A Tale of Treachery in the Brotherhood
by Andi Mason
Summary: All of the ducks have been drawn back to Puckworld, and Duke's memories have been stolen, sending him back to the Brotherhood of the Blade without remembering his decision to join the resistance or knowing any of his teammates. It's up to Gwendolyn Fairfeather to help him remember who he is, but she'll have to face the Brotherhood first.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a sequel to my story, The Tale of the Thief and the Heiress. I recommend reading that one before this. But based upon requests to continue the story, I have this offer you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Mighty Ducks Animated Series. **

Chapter 1

Back into the Shadows

Bitter cold wind slammed against Gwendolyn Fairfeather's limbs as she stepped off the transport just outside the city of Bladeston. Memories started striking her like the rough wind as she recalled the life she once had here …the time she had known Duke in this city.

But this was a different Bladeston. The new elite were not the rich families she had once been surrounded by. Now, those in power here were ducks who found ways to clamber out of the rubble of a Saurian invasion and profit off of the misfortunes of others. Who their families were no longer mattered for the purposes of success.

_I would not have come here at all if not for that broadcast_, Gwen thought to herself, casting a grim expression towards the city. But just a few days ago, she had seen the Mighty Ducks on the news as Puckworld supposedly celebrated the return of its lost members of the resistance. She doubted if her teammates were really being treated like heroes due to the corruption that had flourished on Puckworld, but she was glad to learn of their location.

As she walked across a bridge leading into the city, Gwen thought of the dimensional gateway that had carried her and the other ducks back to their home planet just a few weeks ago. Dragaunus had engaged the ducks in another battle with his droids and henchmen, but something malfunctioned with his ship. There was an explosion, and then a gateway opened.

_If only I had been closer to the other ducks when it opened_, she thought, chiding herself. _Perhaps then we wouldn't have arrived in separate locations on the planet_. But Gwen had agreed to help guide some humans to safety who were too close to Dragaunus' ship during the fighting. When the gateway opened up, it might not have taken her if she hadn't run back towards it in time after seeing the other ducks pulled through.

But instead of dropping her with them, she landed hundreds of miles away from Bladeston. And if she hadn't seen the press release about her teammates, she might have continued to fear that they hadn't ended up on the same planet as her.

Her thoughts kept her distracted as she wandered through much of Bladeston. Some of the ducks around her cast disdainful glares at her dirty clothes and ragged appearance. Without money or resources of her own here, she had just been getting by while trying to find her friends. But she was able to get some information from a few ducks about where Wildwing and Nosedive Flashblade were living.

Despite how exhausted she felt, she hurried to the building and knocked on several of the doors. Many of the residents shouted at her for disturbing them, but finally, she saw a familiar duck open one of them.

"Gwen?"

She hurried to Wildwing and threw her arms around him. They embraced for a moment, and then she stepped back.

"What happened to you?" he asked. "We were afraid you were left behind."

"No, I was pulled into the dimensional gateway too, but separately from you. And when it closed, it dropped me on Puckworld, but I ended up at the base of the southern ice mountains. I've been looking for you ever since."

She walked around him and looked up at the apartments.

"Where's Duke?"

When he didn't answer, Gwen turned back and saw Wildwing drop his gaze.

"He went looking for you. I wasn't sure if you made it into the gateway, but he swore he heard you call out his name."

"But he's here, isn't he?"

Wildwing put his hand on her shoulder and started to guide her inside.

"Yes, he is on Puckworld, but it's complicated, Gwen. Let's go in before we talk about it."

She stared at him as if trying to understand his foreboding tone, but after some hesitation, she remembered how tired and hungry she was.

"Do you have anything to eat?"

Wildwing smiled and nodded.

"Come on, the others will be glad to know you made it."

It wasn't long before Tanya, Mallory, and Grin arrived at Wildwing and Nosedive's place. Gwen was grateful for the steaming bowl of soup that she was offered, and as she ate, the other ducks asked her questions about the past few weeks.

"Hey, does it feel good to be back on Puckworld?" Nosedive asked.

"I would feel better if I knew where Duke was. Why hasn't anyone told me what's going on?"

Nosedive grew quiet, and the other ducks turned their gazes away.

"Have you heard anyone talk about ZYT901?" Tanya asked.

Gwen shook her head as she rose and put her empty bowl in the sink.

"While all of us were on Earth, one of my old colleagues invented a drug to help him cope with his post-traumatic stress from the Saurian invasion. It was an amnesia-inducing drug that allowed ducks to forget events of recent years, including the Saurian invasion."

"He used it on himself?" Gwen asked in surprise.

Tanya nodded.

"But losing so much of his memory made him and his work vulnerable. It wasn't long before someone stole it, and this drug began being sold for profit by less than reputable sources."

"Wait, who would buy it?"

"There were others who wanted to forget the Saurian invasion and the years that followed," Tanya sighed. "Though I doubt they really understood what they were buying. But we also think this drug started being used as a weapon of sorts."

"So someone injected Duke with this drug?"

Tanya nodded.

"Duke was gone a lot after we arrived. He'd go look for you without taking us with him or telling us where he was going. We think someone found and injected him about a week ago."

"But you must have seen him since then," Gwen insisted.

Wildwing nodded.

"We went out looking for him and found him in an alley. He was dazed, and that first night we were able to bring him back with us. Tanya did everything she could for him. But after a few hours, he seemed to wake up, but he wasn't the Duke we knew. And he didn't know any of us."

"He didn't remember Earth …or the Saurian invasion," Mallory said with a shake of her head. "He thought we were trying to lock him away or interrogate him."

Gwen closed her eyes and took a heavy breath.

"So he only remembered his life as a thief, not as a member of the resistance."

"According to Duke, 'What resistance?'" Nosedive said grimly. "He really thought we were trying to trick him with a bogus story."

"We tried to keep him locked up for his own safety, and I hoped I could find a cure," Tanya sighed. "But we underestimated him."

Gwen opened her eyes and looked at them with understanding.

"He escaped?"

Wildwing nodded.

"And have you had any word of him since?" Gwen asked anxiously.

The other ducks looked to Wildwing, who seemed pained to answer her.

"We're pretty sure he's back with the Brotherhood."

Gwen stumbled back against the counter and caught herself on its edge. Grin moved closer to steady her with a sympathetic gaze.

"I thought the Brotherhood faded out of existence when Duke left and the Saurians attacked," she finally said after a few moments.

"They're back," Mallory sighed. "And they have a new leader. Some duck called Madam de Fyre."

"All we know is that she's bad news," Nosedive said. "The Brotherhood's got a new reputation for violence. Something they didn't have so much when Duke was in charge."

"But if we could find Duke, there's more to hope for, since you're back," Wildwing said, and Gwen looked at him with some confusion. "Of course, he doesn't remember us. We only met through the resistance. But he knew you long before the Saurians invaded, Gwen. He would listen to you."

She nodded.

"But how will I find him? Do you know if he's pulled any heists lately?"

"No, that's the thing," Tanya sighed. "We kept trying to wait for him to steal something, thinking we'd capture him and keep working on a cure. But we can't tell that he's left the Brotherhood since he went in."

Gwen looked at her in surprise.

"How do you know?"

Tanya raised a locator device with a map.

"I inserted a tiny chip in his arm while we had him locked up and sedated. And it's only active if he's alive, so we know he hasn't been killed."

"But if you know where he is, why haven't you gone and gotten him yet?"

"Because where he is… is in the heart of the Brotherhood," Mallory said. "And their security is better than most military compounds on Puckworld."

"And they know who we are," Wildwing said. "Our identities have been exposed as members of the resistance. They would never let any of us inside."

Gwen's gaze brightened as she listened to his words.

"True, but they don't know me."

Wildwing's gaze narrowed.

"You want to go in there alone?"

"I can't leave Duke there."

"And just how do you plan to get in?" Mallory asked skeptically.

"I'm sure they're still looking for new recruits."

"This isn't like joining a club," Tanya warned. "They claim their members for life. It's actually been my theory that one of them is responsible for injecting Duke, because they wouldn't just let him walk away."

Gwen's expression softened as she walked forward and looked at all of them.

"I know it's a crazy idea. But I already knew how bad the Brotherhood was before all of this. Or have you forgotten what I told you about how they tried to keep me and Duke apart? But I realize that things are probably even worse now that the world's been turned upside down."

They watched her in silence. Their doubts and reluctance were still clear in their expressions.

"Duke told me things about the Brotherhood that few others would know. And he taught me some skills while we were on Earth. So I'm doing this with or without your help."

"He wouldn't want you going in there," Wildwing cautioned. "And what if you can't get him out once you're inside? What if you both become their prisoners?"

Gwen met his gaze.

"Yes, that might be what happens, and I know you can't help us if things fall apart. But they have my husband, Wildwing. I have to try to get him back."

He studied her face and saw only unshakable resolve in her gaze.

"Then we'll do whatever we can to help."

* * *

Gwen used the rest of the night to try to get some sleep in a spare bed, but she found it hard to quiet her thoughts. _I haven't slept in a bed without Duke in a year and seven months._ Her hand stretched out towards the right side of the mattress. No part of her life seemed so wonderful as those months she spent on Earth with him.

Raising her hand to her eyes, Gwen could see the gleam of the ring on her finger in the dim light. _We made a promise to never leave each other, but now we've been pulled apart again_. She and Duke were living within the same city, but they might as well be on separate worlds. _Finding him means walking into that darkness that he once wished to escape_, she thought. _But can I do that as Gwendolyn Fairfeather?_

There was the risk that someone in the Brotherhood might recognize her as the daughter of an elite Puckworld family. And even if she managed to fool everyone else, did she want Duke to instantly recognize her from his past? _He'll try to protect me. And maybe risk getting himself killed like he almost did the last time we were together on Puckworld._

Gwen closed her eyes, but she could still hear the threat delivered by Quinn Jarrow, the leader of the Brotherhood before Duke._"…but even if you don't fear for your own life, you will remember what will happen to Duke if he tries to divide his loyalty between you and us."_

Opening her eyes, she stared up at the ceiling in the dark room. It might be better if Duke didn't know who she was at first, but she would need to change her appearance to even have a chance at fooling him.

* * *

When morning came, Gwen rose without having gained much rest, but she was grateful for breakfast. And it was a relief to see that the other ducks returned to Wildwing and Nosedive's place to see what assistance they could offer. Gwen explained her decision to change her identity, and Mallory and Tanya volunteered their help.

"As a member of Puckworld's Special Forces, I can access their files. How about a record to make your new identity more credible with the Brotherhood?" Mallory asked.

"Great, but nothing too serious. Some small thefts would be more than enough."

Tanya walked around Gwen, gazing at her feathers and hair.

"Changing your hair color is easy, but I'd recommend staining your feathers too. That's the best way to hide your identity as a Fairfeather."

"Won't that wash off though?"

"I can mix up some that will last you for months as long as you aren't splashed with certain chemically-based solutions."

"So what kind of look are you going for?" Mallory asked.

* * *

A day later, Tanya and Mallory transformed a bathroom at Wildwing and Nosedive's house into a cramped salon. Mallory dyed and cut Gwen's hair. Then Gwen soaked in a bath full of a feather-staining concoction, while Tanya painted it on her face.

"Keep your eyes tightly closed," she warned. "You won't want this dripping into them, but it will be safe once it dries."

"Careful, Tanya," Mallory warned. "You have to get every single feather to make it look like her real color."

"Yeah, I know, and you standing over me doesn't help!"

Gwen kept her eyes and beak closed and tried not to move. She didn't want to make things harder for Tanya. But after several minutes, she heard Tanya breathe a little easier.

"Okay, just keep your eyes closed for a little longer, but I think I got it. I can do the feathers on your neck when your face dries."

"Hey, how long is this gonna take?!" Nosedive asked, impatiently on the other side of the bathroom door.

"As long as it needs to!" Mallory called back.

After about fifteen minutes, Tanya had Gwen open her eyes as Tanya inspected her face.

"I think this might work," Mallory said, approvingly from behind Tanya.

"Duh, you don't think I would have done this without testing it first?" Tanya huffed as she pushed back her sleeve and showed them a splotch of different color feathers around the middle of her arm. "Okay, Gwen, lean your head back, and let me work on your neck."

Half an hour later, Gwen stepped out of the bath. Tanya wanted the stain to air dry, so Gwen had to stand on some old towels and just drip dry.

"You want to see how you look?" Mallory asked, gesturing to a mirror.

Gwen nodded and walked as close as she could. Mallory was able to adjust the mirror to face her, and Gwen felt her breath catch in her throat at the sight of the stranger looking back at her. Black locks, cut to a medium length, hung down around her head. Her body was covered in light brown feathers, no longer the startling white she had grown accustomed to. Looking further at her hair, Gwen noticed a blue streak running through one side.

"What's this?"

"It's popular now among the ducks Nosedive's age or those a little younger. You already look young for your age. I figured we could make your new identity younger to improve the disguise."

Gwen smiled.

"Yes, I like it. Thank you both."

Mallory sighed.

"You still sound like a Fairfeather. I hope you know how to disguise those manners of yours."

Tanya nodded.

"'Course I can," Gwen insisted. "Now get me some clothes. It's freezin' in here."

Mallory smiled.

"Or I could just let Nosedive in and watch how you deal with him."

Gwen cast an impatient look at Mallory, but Tanya nudged Mallory towards the door.

"Go on and at least get her a robe. But don't rush, most of her feathers still have to dry."

* * *

It took Wildwing and Nosedive some time to adjust to Gwen's new appearance, but Grin didn't seem to notice the change much.

"I can still tell it's you," he said.

"Not everyone is you, Grin," she sighed. Then thinking it over a while longer, she asked, "Do you think Duke will recognize me?"

"Someone who is lost will look for traces of what is familiar," Grin said with his usual cryptic style. "But it will probably take him time before he knows you."

She nodded.

"Having the freedom to be someone else may make it easier to help him."

"Just don't lose yourself along the way," Grin warned.

* * *

A few days later, Gwen found herself saying goodbye to the Mighty Ducks in an abandoned building on the south side of the city. This part of town had never recovered from the Saurian invasion, and it was where she planned to start living the first days of her new life.

"You sure you want us to leave you here?" Mallory asked, looking around at the despondent sight of crumbling buildings and streets of rubble.

"Yes, I can't be seen with you. And we had to be careful enough arriving here. From this point on, I have to make this work on my own. But I couldn't have achieved this without you, so thanks."

Gwen pointed to her new appearance.

"It's probably pointless to tell you to be careful," Wildwing sighed. "But we want both you and Duke to make it out of there, got it?"

She smiled and embraced him. When she stepped back, she drew her ring from her finger and held it out to Wildwing.

"Keep it safe for me, okay?"

Wildwing took it hesitantly.

"You sure you don't want it with you?"

She nodded.

"But I will want it back."

Wildwing smiled and nodded as he tucked the ring safely away, and his brother stepped closer.

"I wish we could go with you," Nosedive said. "I hate sitting on the bench."

Gwen put her hand on his arm.

"Thank you, Dive. But this is something that Duke and I have to face. You watch out for your brother and the others, okay? This isn't the same Puckworld you all knew before."

Nosedive gave her a hug, and Grin didn't say much, but he gave her an encouraging nod.

"Don't forget yourself around those criminals," Mallory urged. "A high-class lady wouldn't last long around them."

"Don't forget that I lived under an alias before," Gwen scoffed. "I ran away from high society and became an average citizen."

Mallory shot her a look.

"That's not the same as becoming part of the Brotherhood. But at least our combat training has improved your fighting skills. You still remember that move I taught you on Earth?"

Gwen nodded before turning to Tanya, who asked.

"You sure you understand how the things I gave you work?"

"Yes, we've been over how to use them multiple times. But thank you for the gadgets."

"I just wish you'd let me track your location too."

With a shake of her head, Gwen clasped Tanya's hand to reassure her.

"They'll be more likely to suspect a newcomer of being a spy. I can't risk being found with something like that inside me."

Gwen stepped back and looked at all of them.

"I hope I get to see you soon, but don't worry if you don't hear from me for a while."

"Like that will be easy," Tanya said scornfully.

"Come on, guys," Wildwing said, looking at the others. "The sun is about to rise. It's time to let her go."

Gwen smiled as she watched them leave, but as they slipped back into their vehicle, she felt some anxiety trouble her confidence. She had known them for less than two years, but already she knew why Duke thought of them as family. Suddenly thinking of Duke, she considered how much he had lost when his memory had been taken from him. He had no idea he had friends like this worrying for him and wishing to help him.

"I'll be there soon, Duke," she said under her breath. "I'll find you."

* * *

**Thanks again to those of you who read and left reviews for my other stories. Since so many of you liked The Tale of the Thief and the Heiress, I was happy to start writing a sequel to that story. It just took me some time to find out what kind of sequel I was going to write. **

**Oh, and if you're wanting to know more of what happened between Gwen and Duke on Earth, stay tuned! This story will use flashbacks just like the previous one. **


	2. Chapter 2

**This is a slightly longer chapter, but it ends with an important scene! Thanks for reading!**

Chapter 2

Underworld

"Thief! Someone stop her!"

Gwen heard the same words being shouted that she had heard yesterday and the day before that._ I guess it'd be too much to ask for them to come up with something more original_, she thought as she slipped back into the crowd covering the streets between shops. And just like before, each time the vendors noticed the theft, she was too far out of reach.

However, she wanted them to know it was her. Entrance into the Brotherhood was by invitation only. If she didn't have a reputation as a thief, she'd never be noticed. But not getting caught was equally important.

Once she hurried down a few more streets, Gwen climbed up some storage units piled alongside a building. Then she turned and jumped towards the ledge of a nearby roof. Drawing herself up, she caught her breath and drew out the object in the small pouch at her waist.

As she sat down and waited for her adrenaline to fade, Gwen ran her feathered fingers over the surface of a hand mirror with gems set in the engraved metal frame. She flipped it over and traced the name Fairfeather on the back. _I guess it's still stealing, even when you take something that used to be yours_, she considered. The mirror had seen better days, but at least the gems were still intact.

Gwen turned it over again and looked at her reflection. The black-haired duck with brown feathers staring back at her hardly seemed familiar.

_Not Gwendolyn Fairfeather now, but Raven Vale_. _And it's time to see how much this piece of my old life is worth_.

After standing, she traveled across rooftops for as long as she could, but eventually, she climbed down into an alley. Instead of being surrounded by a crowd of average ducks, going about their business, this street felt desolate and grim. The few ducks who were visible watched her with suspicion or called out vulgar taunts.

But she just kept moving quickly until she reached a gray door painted with the symbol of two hockey sticks crossed over it. She knocked, waited…and knocked again impatiently. Finally, a square window in the door opened.

"We're not open," a male duck answered.

"Syms, it's Raven."

He let out a scornful huff.

"That means nothing to me."

Raven thumped the door with her fist impatiently.

"I brought you the diamond studded clock yesterday."

His eyes narrowed as he studied her.

"And do you have something else today?"

She forced a smile.

"No, I came for a chat."

He stepped back and unlocked the door. And she shot him a look as she entered, letting him close it behind her.

"If you start coming here every day, I'll have PSF at my door when I open it."

"Special Forces doesn't even know who I am," Raven scoffed.

Syms picked up a piece of paper and thrust it into her hands. Holding it up in the dim light, Raven saw that it was a sketch of a duck with dark hair with a reward printed at the bottom.

"Well, what they're offering for my capture is pathetic. And _that _doesn't even look like me. Now do you want to see what I have or not?"

She crumpled up the paper and tossed it aside. Syms watched her for a few seconds, but finally he nodded. Raven drew out the mirror and held it up. She saw a glint of desire flicker in his eyes, but he quickly assumed a disinterested pose.

"Since when do I sell antiques?"

"You don't want it? Well, maybe Heely will."

Raven started to tuck it away, but Syms grabbed her arm.

"When did you start dealing with him?"

"I haven't… yet."

Syms frowned.

"Let me see this," he said, getting a better look at the mirror.

She noticed that he read the name on the back and that his fingers held onto the mirror with an eager grip. This dealer was just as Duke had described him to her on Earth, when he was telling her stories about his days as a thief. She had been grateful to find Syms still in business…and still just as greedy.

"200 plumas."

Raven took the mirror back from him.

"Not good enough."

But he blocked her path to the door.

"You're forgetting how this works. When you bring something to me, I tell you how much it is worth."

She held onto the mirror as she met his gaze, but then heavy footsteps drew her attention as the door to the other room opened. A burly duck with dark gray feathers and red hair stepped into the room.

"Let's see this mirror," he said as he approached Raven and held out his hand.

After a moment's hesitation, she handed it to the stranger, who inspected it.

"She's right, Syms. You can pay me double that for this prize."

Raven made no attempt to take the mirror back, but she stood her ground between them.

"I came here to make a bargain for that. And I'll have something in return for my trouble."

The new duck activated a blue saber, but Raven had already drawn a small blaster and a short blade in her hands. He had the advantage in close-range combat, but she didn't back down.

"Syms said you've been bringing him some valuable pieces," the stranger said as he glanced at the mirror again. "Guess he wasn't lyin' this time."

Raven continued to hold her blaster ready.

"And why does my work interest you?"

"A good thief is always of interest to our organization… maybe you've heard of us?"

She studied him for a moment and then lowered her blaster and the short blade in her other hand.

"The Brotherhood?"

He set the mirror aside and drew out a black card, which he held out to her.

"What is this?" Raven said scornfully as she took it. "An invitation?"

But as she turned to read it, she saw that the words appeared in fine silver letters that were difficult to read unless you turned it a certain way in the light.

Yet, she was not so distracted that she didn't see the stranger step suddenly closer. And Raven tried to draw back, but not in time as he seized her arm and struck her on the side of her head. She collapsed at his feet, and the gray duck deactivated his saber.

"Well, you got what you came for, Jax," Syms said, heading back towards the mirror. But the other duck seized it first.

"She can wait. You're paying me for this."

Syms frowned and turned to collect the money, while Jax looked down at the girl with a smirk as she lay unconscious.

"You belong to the Brotherhood now."

* * *

A pounding ache in her head finally awoke Raven to a dismal room with several mats, but she seemed to be alone except for one rather short and stout duck walking around. He tossed packages onto the mats from a bag slung over his shoulder, and when he saw her sit up, he gave a low laugh and threw a package at her.

"Trust Jax to bring in another girl. Did he give you a few bruises to remember him by?"

"Yeah," she groaned, gingerly touching her head. "Is this the Brotherhood?"

Another laugh answered her.

"No, this is a training base for rookies. You don't get to see the Brotherhood until you prove yourself here."

Raven sighed as she looked down at what he had tossed to her. It was some kind of ration package. Tearing a corner open, she broke off a piece of the dried food inside. Shutting her eyes, she had to work hard to swallow it as the taste was so unpleasant.

"Get used to it. There's nothin' nice about being stuck here."

"Doesn't anyone ever go out and get their own food?"

"Only members of the Brotherhood can come and go here. Rookies never leave unless they are accepted as apprentices. So you're not goin' anywhere for a long while."

"We'll see about that," Raven said, setting down the packet.

But the next week was about as horrible as the first impression had made it out to be. One of the main members of the Brotherhood who came to torment… or train… those like Raven at the base was a brute of a drake named Darion. He was not quite as tall as Jax, the one who had kidnapped her, but he was strong and enjoyed striking rookies who were too slow.

And the other ducks in training were no better as companions. It was clear that she would not find any friends or allies among them as they were all competing to be noticed. And sometimes Darion encouraged that fierce competitive spirit by having them fight each other in the combat ring until one was too weak or injured to get up.

After two weeks of training, Raven was getting desperate to find a way out of this prison camp when Darion took them to a larger room and announced an important test.

"If you want to make it to the next stage of your training, you'll have to convince the boss that you're worth assigning to an experienced member of the Brotherhood as an apprentice. You can prove that today by coming out on top."

Darion pointed to the far end of the room.

"On the other side of this room is a ruby. The first one to seize it and hold onto it will be rewarded."

"So it's a race," one of the young drakes said, sounding unimpressed.

Darion nodded towards the other wall.

"Not exactly."

A door opened, and some other young ducks walked into the middle of the room.

"These new recruits are also training and competing for their apprenticeships. But they're not here to seize the ruby. They're just here to stop you. And make no mistake, you are not on a team with those around you. There are _no_ teams in the Brotherhood. Each of you is competing for yourself."

Raven saw the other ducks beside her cast cold gazes at her and each other. She was certainly getting a feel for the ruthless competition of the Brotherhood that Duke had once tried to describe to her.

A harsh whistle sounded, and the ducks around her ran forward, shoving each other as they darted towards the line of those that stood to oppose them. Raven hung back to observe what would happen.

"You!" Darion shouted. "Move! Or you can spend the next two days in the combat ring!"

Raven narrowed her gaze as she cast a glare at him. Yet, she forced her feet to rush towards the madness ahead of her. There was one part of the crowd where the fighting was thinnest, but Raven turned her gaze to the heart of the fighting that had broken out between the recruits. _They want to see how tough I am…if I don't prove myself now, it could be months before I find Duke._

As she ran forward, one of the bigger male ducks tossed aside one of his competitors and saw her. He grinned and stood ready to take her down. Raven kept her course straight until the last moment. Jumping down and sliding into another duck engaged in a fight, she forced him in front of her, and the big drake had to direct his attack to the other.

Meanwhile, Raven tripped up another duck that came after her and thrusting him down, she propelled herself over him and flew over some of the recruits who were wrapped up in their fights. In the process of landing, she tackled one of the ducks on the outer fringe of the conflict and knocked him out with a swift blow.

Rising to her feet, she sprinted towards the far end. Some of the other ducks shouted and started after her. But Raven kept her eyes on a glittering object on a display stand. As she drew closer, her eyes widened with some surprise, and she glanced back to see others racing to get the gem. Deviating from her course, she saw a groove on the far wall and leapt up to evade her rivals.

As she clung to the wall, she feared they might come after her, but then she saw that they had gathered around the display stand and were fighting for the prize. She had been forgotten for the moment.

Looking around, Raven saw that the wall had grooves in a few other places, but one section appeared lighter with a hint of an outline around it. She climbed over to it and found that it seemed loose. She felt along the edge with her fingers until she found a way to pull it open. A panel fell from the wall, and she caught a small bag that almost tumbled out with it.

Opening it, she glanced inside and saw the glimmer of a precious gem. Clutching the bag to her chest, she looked around and saw a platform just a few feet above her. Raven put the top edge of the bag between her teeth, so she could use both of her hands again. The wall was difficult to climb with only small grooves to hold onto, but she managed and clambered onto the top with her limbs aching.

A whistle sounded, and she stiffened but remained where she was.

"The competition is over!" Darion announced.

But many of the young recruits below were still fighting. He had to go down and break them up before the chaos came to an end. One of them snatched up a sparkling red object from the floor and held it out to Darion. But the impatient judge snatched it and threw it down on the floor where it shattered.

"That's glass, you imbeciles! And I would have let you keep fighting over it, but someone found the ruby."

The young recruits looked around at each other in confusion. Darion cast a cold glance up at Raven. She was still breathing heavily as she now held the bag tightly in her hand. But suddenly, she had the sensation that someone else was watching her.

Turning around, she saw a female duck with silver feathers standing behind her.

"Impressive. Very few recruits achieve success so quickly. Now I suggest you follow me before those fools down there realize what you've achieved."

Raven obeyed without hesitation. As they walked through a dim hallway, she noted that this duck had white hair pinned back in a bun behind her head with a few loose strands hanging around her face. Her clothes were fashioned from a dark blue fabric that was fitted tight to accentuate her curves. But it expressed power as well as beauty with silver highlights sewn into the outfit. And even though her hair was white, she did not appear to be much older than Raven. It was another expression of seniority without the sacrifice of beauty. _Madam_ _Soléne de Fyre, no doubt_, Raven decided.

They entered a room, and Madam de Fyre shut the door behind Raven.

"I take it you know who I am."

"I've only heard whispers," Raven said. "But you're the boss, Madam de Fyre."

Raven held out the ruby to her.

"I didn't expect you to surrender it so quickly," Soléne said with a raised eyebrow.

Raven dropped it into her hand.

"I wanted your attention far more than I wanted this."

"Well, now you have it, Miss…"

"Raven Vale."

"Hm, Raven. How fitting," Soléne said. "So you've come here eager to prove yourself. That's common enough for our recruits. However, it seems that you possess skills and insight which they do not. Tell me. How did you know not to go for the decoy in the display?"

"I can tell the difference between a glass ruby and a real one. And I wasn't going to let those thugs catch me and beat me for one."

"You found the real ruby fairly quickly for someone who is new to all of this."

"If you want to survive on the streets, you never fall for an obvious trick."

"And how long have you been on the streets?"

"Since the Saurians invaded, but I'd wager that's a story you've heard many times before."

"You're right," Soléne said with a smirk. "Tragic stories carry no weight here, girl. If you want to make something of yourself in the Brotherhood, then you take what you want."

She held up the ruby to make her point, and Raven nodded.

"You will not be ignored if you continue to perform as you did today. But your success will prompt jealousy from many rivals. Do you think you are ready for the fight that lies ahead of you?"

Raven responded with an even gaze and a faint smile.

"I'd better be if I want to survive."

Soléne responded with a laugh.

"True. I'm pleased you understand how this works. In days past, the Brotherhood grew soft on failures, but we are not so anymore. But today was a failure for those fools out there, not for you. So tell me what you want, and perhaps you will be rewarded."

Taking only a few seconds to pause, Raven quickly answered,

"I wish to move on to the next step. There cannot be much that Darion has left to teach me. Let me become an apprentice, Madam de Fyre. I can't do anything for the Brotherhood if I'm stuck in this pit."

Sitting back in her chair, Soléne considered the new recruit.

"I'm tempted to grant such a request, but all of our mentors have apprentices. I could let you fight one of them for their place. That might prove entertaining."

"And I would accept the challenge," Raven answered in a determined tone. "But is there really no one available?"

"Well," Soléne said with some reluctance. "There might be one."

Rising from her chair, she walked towards Raven.

"But first, there is one part of the Brotherhood that I must be certain you understand."

"What is that?"

"My will comes before everything else here," Soléne said, watching her with a cold gaze. "Your loyalty always belongs to me – more so than to any mentor or any ally you might find in the Brotherhood."

Raven continued to meet her gaze.

"I understand."

"I wonder if you do. Not so long ago I had reason to doubt the loyalty of one of my thieves. And so I told her apprentice to kill her."

Raven stood and listened as Soléne walked around her.

"Sadly, the apprentice was a young drake who had fallen for the charms of his mentor. In the end, I executed both of them. So you see, I will have it all, or I shall leave nothing behind."

"Then the new strength of the Brotherhood is due to you," Raven answered. "So much on Puckworld has grown frail. I am grateful weakness is not tolerated here."

Soléne watched her face and seemed satisfied.

"You are willing to do all that I might ask of you then?"

"I am."

"Then tomorrow you will be brought to the Brotherhood to begin your training, and we will see if you can live up to your word."

Moving past Raven, Soléne walked to the door and opened it.

"What of tonight?" Raven asked. "I have to stay here?"

Soléne turned and smiled.

"One final test of your resolve. If you can't last one night with these jealous fools, then you won't last a few hours in the real underworld."

Raven closed her beak and watched Madam de Fyre take her leave. In a few minutes, Darion entered and scowled at her.

"Did you think you'd get away with showing off?"

* * *

The night was indeed a rough one for Raven. Darion struck her whenever she didn't move fast enough for him during a late-night training session. He seemed eager to punish her. But if that wasn't bad enough, the other rookies were casting murderous looks her way.

Raven went to her mat at midnight knowing she'd never be able to sleep. And after fighting off one attack, she spent the rest of the night walking and standing with her back to a wall. When morning finally came, her limbs felt exhausted, but still she ate some of her rations away from the others.

Just when she was starting to get sleepy, she recognized a gray duck with red hair approaching her.

"So it looks like the boss agrees you were worth something after all," Jax said with a smirk. "Aren't you glad I recruited you?"

Raven kept her beak shut, but she glared at him.

"Come on, this time you're going to headquarters," he said.

Raven wearily pushed herself away from the wall and took a step towards him.

"Are you going to knock me out again?"

"I could," he said, with a bit of a threatening tone, but then he smiled unpleasantly. "But I don't think you'll give me any trouble today."

Raven finally gave a curt nod, and he led her to a door that was always guarded. The guards let them through, and for the first time in weeks, Raven was able to walk outside. Jax climbed on a duck cycle and told her to get on behind him. After she complied, he rode off, taking them down streets unknown to her.

After a short ride, Jax took her into some tunnels and blindfolded her. Raven was forced to let him lead her deeper and deeper underground through passages that she would never be able to remember. She heard some doors being opened at times, but finally, Jax stopped her and took off the blindfold.

Raven stared up at a high ceiling in what appeared to be large underground chambers with lights hung above them. Although parts of it seemed very old, she could also see that renovation had been done and the stylish overhead lights looked like they could have been new.

Jax led Raven to what was to be her room and told her to get a few hours rest. Madam de Fyre would want to see her soon. After he left her, Raven sealed the door and sat down on the bed with a sigh of relief. All she could think of was getting to see Duke, but her body was really tired after the stress of the night before.

* * *

She was able to get about three hours of sleep before Jax was back outside her door. But when she opened it, she also found Soléne de Fyre there too. After bowing her head slightly, Raven looked curiously up at the leader of the Brotherhood.

"So you passed the tests it took to get here," Soléne said with a smile. "But now you must prove you can stay. Are you ready to meet your mentor?"

"I am," Raven said quickly.

Soléne and Jax walked off, and she followed them quickly. Raven noticed that Jax moved beside Soléne almost like a bodyguard, and she realized that he might be more closely tied to the boss than she had originally thought.

They walked down several hallways until they reached the doorway of a dining hall. There were tables and chairs on the far side of the room with nearby doors that seemed to go to a kitchen. And on the wall closest to the door, there was a bar.

Soléne halted them at the door and smiled as she looked from Raven to the bar.

"As most of our mentors already have apprentices, I've had to put you with one of our more unique members. He's at a bit of a low point in his profession right now, but training you is a good way for him to make himself useful. And despite appearances, he was once the best thief on Puckworld."

Raven's gaze had already turned from Soléne to watch a figure sitting at the bar. He sat with sagging shoulders, staring down at his drink. Several empty glasses rested beside him. She restrained her emotion at seeing him and tried to appear confused.

"I'm certain Duke L'Orange still has some things he can teach you," Soléne said with a hint of mockery in her tone.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Pits of Darkness

Four Days Ago

After finding his way back to the Brotherhood, Duke L'Orange had been seized and brought to its lower levels. He recognized the rooms and passages, but he should have recognized the faces of those around him… but none of them appeared familiar to him.

And though, some of the ducks whispered and stared at him, none of them spoke to him like they knew him. He was taken to a room that he remembered as his chambers, but the décor was completely different. Burgundy and black were replaced with blue and silver. Duke was thrust into a chair as his guards remained close behind him, and a beautiful duck walked closer with an icy stare.

"You don't remember who I am, do you, Duke?"

"Uh, no, can't say that I do."

She studied him.

"Do you know what year it is?"

"3034, I think," he answered.

She shook her head.

"No, Duke, it's nearly the end of 3039."

He shot her a skeptical look, but as his gaze was drawn back to the room, the changes seemed to disturb him more.

"If five years have passed, then where have I been? And don't tell me it was another planet. I've already heard that one."

"Only if you consider Renrest another planet."

Duke grew quiet, though his surprise was evident. Renrest Prison was where all captured members of the Brotherhood were sent if they couldn't avoid the authorities. The place had a black reputation.

"You don't remember any of what they did to you?" she asked with a sympathetic tone.

"No, …uh, I don't even remember escaping."

"You didn't. I got you out."

He looked up at her in surprise.

"Sorry, I still don't know who you are."

She moved behind the desk and sat down in the large chair facing him.

"I am Soléne de Fyre, the new leader of the Brotherhood. When you disappeared, it fell into ruin, and everyone thought you were dead. But I brought it back from the brink. And when I learned where you were, it felt like an insult to the Brotherhood to let them keep you."

Duke looked around the room again as he took in the news.

"However, you were barely conscious when we took you. And when you woke, you were confused and suspicious, which led you to escape from us."

"I remember escaping from some ducks the other day, but I don't remember you."

She opened a file and drew out a photo. When she held it up, Duke recognized the five ducks who had tried to lock him up in some kind of lab.

"Yeah, that's them."

"They are not with the Brotherhood. No doubt they were trying to take you back to Renrest."

"They told me strange stories about an invasion by Saurians," Duke continued.

She shrugged as she lowered the photo.

"If Renrest took your memories, they must have inflicted all kinds of mental torture and confusion upon you. It's fortunate that you escaped and found your way back to us."

Duke glanced over his shoulder at the ducks behind him.

"Yeah, I doubt that. I've been the one to take over the Brotherhood from a past leader, so I know what it's like. I'm surprised you'd want me here …unless it's to kill me."

She smiled and sat back in her chair.

"There won't be a need for that if you can come to terms with our new reality. The ducks in service to the Brotherhood are loyal to me. They've heard of you, of course, but I brought in new blood when I took power. I doubt there's many left that you would remember …even if you had your memory."

Duke's gaze hardened at the way she said that last bit, but he kept his beak closed. She seemed far too pleased with his situation.

"Bein' leader is something I can give up," he said. "But I'll want the freedom to choose my own jobs."

She tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile.

"This loss of your memory …it's unsettling. I don't think you're ready to go back out into the world."

"You intend for me to stay down here?"

"It's a necessary precaution for now. Prove your loyalty amongst us, and when you seem stronger, I'll send you out again."

She nodded to the drakes behind him, and they pulled Duke up. He drew his arms away from them, and Soléne motioned for them to take a step back.

"Until we know that we can trust you, Duke, you'll have to allow some inconvenience. But no doubt it will only be temporary."

One of the guards opened the door, and Duke cast a cold glance back at her. Finally, he walked out with the guards. They took him to a suite on the far end of a hall. The rooms weren't in the best shape, but he wasn't given any other options. When the guards left him, Duke figured they weren't too far down the hall.

As he looked at the patched couch and scuffed table in the outer room, Duke sighed and put his hand to his head.

"Looks like I've been moved to coach."

* * *

Present Day

Duke stared down at the nearly empty glass before him, and he was about to order another drink, when Soléne approached and picked up his glass.

"This is becoming a regular morning habit, isn't it, Duke?"

"Morning, afternoon, evening…it all starts to blur together. That's how much fun this has been."

He sat back and met her gaze. Though she continued to smile, something cold and vengeful flickered in her eyes.

"Frankly, it's getting old, Duke. How much longer do you expect to receive an extension of our patience if you can't find a way to be useful?"

"And here I'd already thought I'd worn out my welcome," Duke scoffed. "Looks like I'll have to work a little harder at being a waste of your time."

Soléne's smile disappeared, and she cast a glance at Jax. The burly duck gripped Duke's collar and threw him to the floor. Then Soléne stepped forward and leaned over him.

"That is about to change. I have found a way for you to be useful."

Duke remained on the ground without seeming to care.

"You will take on an apprentice and train her to better serve the Brotherhood."

He opened his good eye and seemed to notice Raven for the first time. With a groan, he put his hand to his head.

"No, I'm not training any amateurs. Besides, wouldn't I be a poor influence on your new recruit?"

"She's loyal to me, but her skills could use some sharpening. Now get up before I lose my patience."

Duke let out a scornful laugh as he stood up.

"And you think that scares me? We both know what's coming. Drop the games, and just finish it."

The tension around the bar thickened, and Jax waited for permission to do what he had longed for ever since Duke L'Orange's return. Soléne's expression was icy and threatening, but Raven slipped around Jax and grabbed his saber before he could stop her. Then she pointed it at Duke.

"You're not the one I would have chosen as a mentor, but since I'm out of options, show me you still know how to fight."

Duke turned his attention to her, but he did so without any sign that he planned to fight back.

"Kid, why don't you take a step back and stick your beak in someone else's business."

Raven felt his cold rebuke, but her determination did not waver.

"I'm not leaving this room without a mentor. That's my business."

Duke gestured to himself.

"I'm not armed."

Soléne drew out a spare saber and slid it across the bar to him. But Duke shook his head.

"I'm not doing this."

"I came here to be a thief. You gonna turn me into a murderer?" Raven taunted as she slashed the air with Jax's saber.

"That's your choice," Duke said with a grim tone.

Raven shook her head.

"No, it's not. Not anymore. And you oughta understand that."

She advanced, hoping that her choices would spur him into action. And to her relief, Duke finally seized the saber and activated it to defend himself.

"You wanna play rough, then?" he said as he used his blade to push her back. "So be it. I'll give you a lesson right here."

The duel erupted into a fierce struggle as Raven felt Duke fight back with a stern and calculated force that she had never known during their practice sessions on Earth. But still, his moves were familiar to her, and she knew how to anticipate them. She even managed to recall some of the techniques he had taught her.

Minutes passed, and sweat dampened their feathers as their hearts pumped with surging adrenaline. As they drew close together in the struggle, Duke seized her arm with one of his hands, and Raven felt her concentration break.

She tore away just as he disarmed her and won the duel. Jax's saber clattered to the floor, and Duke breathed heavily as he deactivated the saber in his hand.

"You're gonna have to be better than that if you wanna survive here. Any other opponent wouldn't leave you standing after a fight like that."

Soléne clapped behind them.

"See, you're already teaching her," she said as she reclaimed the saber from Duke and picked up Jax's. "So it's settled then. Raven will be your apprentice."

Duke turned to her and said in a low voice,

"This isn't gonna end well. And you know it."

Soléne's response was an unpleasant smile.

"Just do your best, Duke. No one could ask more of you than that."

She turned away, and Jax followed her. Duke groaned and cast an angry gaze at Raven.

"You're gonna regret this."

"Maybe I already do," she returned. "I'm going to take a shower. And you definitely need one. Find me when you're ready to start training."

She walked off towards her room, and Raven's expression changed once she was alone in the hall. She hated responding so sharply to Duke, but she couldn't let Soléne or any of her spies see her interest. _Looks like the new boss's plan to bring Duke here so she could control him isn't going as she hoped_, she thought. _But with the loss of his memory, Duke was acting like he had nothing left to live for_. Raven feared that Soléne would grow tired of his resistance and just resort to slaughtering Duke if something didn't change.

* * *

"You shoulda just let me kill him," Jax said as he walked with Soléne down a corridor.

"Not yet. This rash amateur may provide the opportunity I've been waiting for."

"You can't depend on her loyalty. In the past, Duke managed to persuade ducks to change sides more than a few times."

Her expression grew colder, but she answered,

"If Duke wins her loyalty from me, it will happen because she has come to mean something to him. Imagine how it will torture him when I destroy her."

"And if she stays loyal to you?"

"Then I'll command her to get close to Duke …and put a knife in his heart when the time is right."

"It'd be more satisfying if you'd let me do it," Jax said impatiently.

"No, too direct," she sighed. "He doesn't get to escape misery so easily. But I suspect he already guesses my plans. That's why he didn't want to take her on."

"So what if he never warms up to the girl?"

"He will. She is just the type to break his resolve."

When she reached her quarters, she dismissed him, and Jax frowned before walking off. After watching him go, Soléne de Fyre opened the door and stepped into her room. She walked to a desk and opened a top drawer. Just inside was a gold ring.

* * *

Five Days Ago

Duke's memory was sharp and clear as he recalled being pulled through the dimensional gateway to Puckworld. He knew he had heard Gwen being pulled behind them and that she had called his name. But in the chaos of the gateway, it had been hard to fix his eyes on anything and confirm his suspicions with a glimpse of her.

These long searches for her throughout the city took a toll on his strength though. Even with the aid of a duckcycle, his feet and limbs ached after searching multiple medical facilities and shelters for her. She could have been injured if the gateway dropped her in the wrong location, but he doubted that she would tell anyone her real name, which only made it more difficult to track her down.

After inspecting another shelter in a rough part of Bladeston, he stopped beside an alley and leaned against the wall, trying to consider where else he should look. Rain was beginning to fall in a light, freezing drizzle, but Duke forgot about the wet drops on his beak when he saw a figure walk out of the shadows of the alley.

He frowned and tensed as he recognized Soléne de Fyre.

"Looking for someone, Duke?"

He shot a cold gaze back at her.

"It's not your concern. Nothin' I do ever is, but that was always a tough concept for you."

"The two of us… together," she said slowly with a suggestive tone. "Such an arrangement could have only benefited you. But you were blind to it."

Duke responded with a scornful laugh.

"It was never about my benefit, Soléne. But I guess in my absence, you probably got what you wanted. You seized the Brotherhood, didn't you?"

She just continued to watch him.

"I did. And now every thief in the Brotherhood is mine, including you."

Duke drew his saber and activated it.

"You can keep the Brotherhood, but my life is my own. I'm not tied to being a thief anymore."

She laughed.

"No one can cut ties to the Brotherhood. You should know that better than most."

Duke shook his head.

"If you're the new leader, then you can't want me back there. So that means, you're here to kill me."

"Only if I must," Soléne answered. "But in fact, I would rather drag you back to the Brotherhood and in front of all, have you bow to me."

"Not gonna happen," Duke scoffed.

Soléne smiled.

"You underestimate me. You always did."

She activated her saber and started towards him. But Duke was ready for the fight and defended himself. As they continued to move around the alley in a duel, he did not see Jax climb down into the shadows. And it only took one opportune moment for Jax to seize Duke from behind and inject the ZYT901.

The drug caused Duke to sink into unconsciousness, and Soléne walked closer as Jax picked up Duke's saber. She leaned down and seized Duke's hand.

"Is that a wedding ring?" Jax scoffed.

Soléne pulled it from Duke's finger and stood up as she examined it with a cold expression.

"It's meaningless now. He won't remember losing it or her."

* * *

Back in the present, Soléne studied the ring in her drawer as she reflected on how Duke had escaped from them before they could get him back to the Brotherhood. But the drug had done its work, and it wasn't long before he returned to them of his own free will.

"And now I will see to it that he never leaves again," she said, setting the ring down and pushing the drawer closed.

* * *

**Hope you are enjoying the story! There's more to come with Gwendolyn trying to help Duke remember who he is, but under the threat of the Brotherhood, she has to continue to act as Raven.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Tough Love

Hours after first seeing Duke, Raven stood in one of the training rooms after making use of the equipment available to members of the Brotherhood. While waiting for Duke to show up, she had worked on her balance and flexibility on the ten-foot high rigs and walked narrow beams poised high above the floor. Next, Raven turned to strength training when he still hadn't arrived.

But once another hour passed, Raven drew in a breath impatiently and paced around the room. _He's not coming_, she thought as both fear and anger stirred within her. _We finally have this chance to be together… and he's not coming_.

Drawing in another breath and steadying her resolve, Raven left the training room and began to walk the halls of the Brotherhood on her own again. She was grateful not to find many other ducks about, but even the few that she passed shot her cold glances …or the worst were those who appeared interested, yet their intent seemed malicious and threatening.

Her search for Duke led her back to the large open room that served as a dining hall, and as soon as the bar came into view, she halted at a familiar sight. Something like sickening disappointment shook her for a moment. Yet, she urged herself forward.

As the bartender started to slide another drink to Duke, Raven caught it and thrust it away.

"Is this what you call training?"

"Notice where I am, rookie," Duke said. "This is what it looks like to not care."

Raven cast an impatient gaze in his direction, but he wasn't even looking at her. Turning to the rest of the dining hall, Raven recognized Darion from the rookie training base. He sat at one of the tables with some other rough-looking drakes. The idea prompted by this unpleasant sight made Raven wish she had stayed in the training room, but there was no turning back now.

"So you really don't care? Prove it," she said to Duke. "I don't think I learned my lesson earlier."

When she started walking towards the table, Duke suddenly seemed to wake up, and he hissed a warning at her, but Raven couldn't hear it over the sound of her heart pounding in her chest.

As she walked up to the table, she realized that she hadn't really thought about what she would do yet… or how she would defend herself when this all went terribly wrong.

But she was standing next to the table before there was time to think, and without hesitating, she seized one of the tasty-looking buns from Darion's plate and took a bite.

She swallowed and said, "You don't mind if I steal from you, do you?"

Darion stood up and walked over to her.

"Well, look who thinks she's the queen of the underworld after trumping a few fools in the amateur's games."

"You're the one stuck leading those stupid games – which, I beat by the way. Guess that makes you the biggest fool of all."

Darion clamped a hand on her shoulder and squeezed with painful force.

"It happens all the time. You rookies get swelled heads walking around down here. Until we take you down a few pegs, that is. But it's the girls I enjoy humbling the most."

His friends at the table murmured their agreement with cruel intent in their gazes. Raven pretended to cower for a moment, but then she seized his other hand and twisted with sudden force that he cried out and released her. She stepped back with a smile. Mallory had been right; that was a worthy move to know.

Now the ducks at the table and Darion were glaring her with murderous expressions, and the rest of the dining hall had started paying attention. _If this doesn't hurry up and work, I'm doomed_, Raven decided.

When her attackers rose and started to move towards her, she started to take a fighting stance, but someone pulled her back and flipped her onto the ground. Duke stood over her and moved into the path of Darion and his friends.

"Move out of the way, L'Orange. It's our right to teach this little fool her place."

"No, it's not. Soléne made her my apprentice this morning. So it's my job, not yours."

"Your apprentice?" Darion scoffed. "Well, you're busy at the bar. So why don't you let us bring her back to you in an hour. She'll have lost some of her pride by then."

"It's gonna take a lot of work, but we might be able to convince her to listen to you," one of the others laughed.

Duke smiled and stepped aside. As Darion laughed and walked towards Raven, Duke tripped him and seized him in a chokehold.

"You lay a finger on her again without my permission, and I'll cut off your hand."

He released Darion and thrust him aside. Then he hauled up Raven and tossed her over his shoulder. Without waiting a second longer, he walked out of the dining hall, carrying her in a humiliating position. Once in the hall, Duke drew her off his shoulder and pushed her up against the wall.

"The next time you get yourself in too deep, you can drown, got it?"

"Sure," Raven said hesitantly at first, and then her tone and expression became resentful. "But just to be clear, if you refuse to train me, I'm a dead duck anyway. There didn't seem to be any use in pretending things would turn out differently. It's just a question of now or later."

Duke sighed as he looked away and then turned back to her.

"I'm the one who's a dead duck. Don't get used to the idea of me being your mentor. It won't last long."

"Just show up to train me tomorrow," Raven insisted. "That's all I care about."

Pushing past him, she walked off down the hall and headed back to her room for the night. Duke leaned against the wall and massaged his head with a despondent groan.

But moving down the hall, Raven's expression changed as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart_. I'm going to get myself killed if I pull another stunt like that_, she thought. _At least I learned that the real Duke is still in there. He wouldn't have saved me otherwise. _Her heart swelled with her feelings for him… but with them came her fears that she would lose him. Duke wasn't holding out a lot of hope for himself.

* * *

The next day, Raven was relieved to see that Duke did find her in the training room, even if he was a little late. When he entered, she rose from the place where she had been sitting on a mat and waiting.

"All of this is pointless, but you might as well tell me your name again. And try not to speak too loudly. I've got a headache."

"It's Raven Vale," she said impatiently. "And you're Duke L'Orange …or at least that's what I've been told."

"You're not the only to have doubts," he scoffed. "Let's start by running through some fencing skills."

As Duke picked up some training sabers and carried them towards her, a memory stirred in Raven's thoughts.

* * *

Back on Earth

"_You're wasting your time," Mallory argued as she watched Duke draw out his two training blades from storage. _

_Gwen shot Mallory a look as she accepted one from Duke. But the redhead persisted with her point as she held a puck launcher in her hand._

"_Firearms made sabers obsolete years ago. There are better ways to improve your combat skills, Gwen."_

"_I don't want to be trained in just one style of fighting," came the answer._

_Duke faced Mallory with a confident grin._

"_I think you're forgetin' those times I beat you in our one-to-one training sessions. My style is hardly obsolete." _

_Mallory let out a scornful laugh. _

"_You got lucky a few times, L'Orange. Don't make too much of it." _

_But she dropped her attempts to sway Gwen and started to walk away. Turning back to Gwen, Duke shot her a curious look._

"_But seriously, Gwen, why do you want to learn this?" _

_She looked down at the saber._

"_I know the Brotherhood was what kept us apart, but it was your life. I want to share in it any way I can. And I've seen how much you enjoy your skill with the saber." _

_She swung the training blade in her hand, but her strokes were clumsy and uncertain._

"_This is gonna take some work," Duke sighed though he still smiled._

* * *

Raven's thoughts were interrupted by Duke saying, "You seemed to have had a grasp of the basics the other day."

He tossed one of the training tools to Raven, and her mind was quickly drawn back to the present as she moved to catch the saber.

She smiled.

"So you admit that I was good."

"Not enough to have anything to be proud of," he scoffed.

Raven frowned as she handled the training saber made from wood.

"Teach me to be great then," she insisted with a mocking tone. "Like you."

Duke responded with a curt laugh.

"You seem to know just how to get under my feathers, kid. Hope that means you're in the mood for a few bruises."

They circled each other and began a duel. Although it took all of her concentration and abilities to match his skill, Raven found herself enjoying being in the Brotherhood for one of the first times since she arrived. Practicing with Duke felt right, and even though, he was tougher on her here than on Earth, she still loved it. She couldn't hide her smile when she fell into the rhythm of sparring with him.

At first, Duke seemed to be taking the practice seriously, and he even seemed to be trying to punish her for her reckless behavior yesterday. He struck her a few times with his wooden sword, and Raven knew that she would certainly have more than a few bruises. But she rallied to his challenges, and as the practice wore on, Duke began responding positively to her upbeat attitude. He even seemed a little confused when she accepted his criticism and corrections so readily.

When they broke apart from another duel, Duke tapped her left side lightly with his practice saber.

"You're still leaving this side too vulnerable."

As he spoke, he turned away and seemed distracted by a sudden thought. Raven remembered that he had told her the same thing on Earth.

"Is there something else?" she asked.

"Ah, no," he said, shaking off his thought. "I think that's enough of this for today."

Raven could feel her muscles aching, but she looked down at the wooden sword reluctantly. She could have kept going if it meant staying with him a little longer.

"Is it so terrible to have me as your student?"

Duke met her gaze for just a moment.

"Maybe not when you're following orders."

But then he turned away and started to walk off.

"We'll start again tomorrow."

Raven sighed as he disappeared. She had debated telling him who she was, but there seemed to be more she could do for him if she kept her identity a secret. _I don't want him worrying about how to protect me from__ Soléne_, she decided.

* * *

As evening approached, Raven was reluctant to go back to the dining hall even though she was hungry for dinner. The Brotherhood only had one other place to get food. It was a small café that offered drinks and sandwiches. Raven chose to pick up some food from there, but on her way, back to her room, she had to pass a corridor near the dining hall.

Three shadows appeared on the wall, and she started to move faster, but it was too late. Darion and some of his friends had seen her.

"Don't fly away so fast, little bird."

Raven found herself surrounded before she could get any farther.

"You should have come and eaten with us tonight."

"I decided I didn't care for the taste of your food," she said. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

But Darion grabbed both of her arms and laughed.

"No, I don't _excuse_ you. Where'd those manners come from, kid?"

Raven's angry expression faltered as she realized her error.

"Sounds like she might be too classy for you," a voice said from behind them.

The thugs turned to see Duke.

"Let her go, or I'll finish what we started yesterday."

Darion laughed.

"You'd need a saber to take us down, and the boss won't let you carry one anymore."

Duke activated a red saber.

"Look familiar?"

Darion stammered and then growled as he recognized his own weapon.

"The boss is just waiting for an excuse to take you out. Fighting with us would give her just what she's looking for."

"Yeah, except she's the one who assigned Raven as my apprentice. If you harass her, I can't see Madam de Fyre giving you much sympathy after I cut you down to size."

Duke swung the saber with ease and precision to make a point. The jerks around Raven backed off.

"Return my saber," Darion insisted.

"You can pick it up from the boss tomorrow… after you cool off."

Darion stalked off with his friends, and Raven was left alone with Duke.

"You wouldn't last a day here on your own," he said. "You know that, right?"

Raven clutched her sandwich.

"I just have a gift for making friends, okay?"

He laughed scornfully, but his gaze quickly returned to her face.

"You know you don't sound like someone just off the street. You gonna tell me why that is?"

Turning her face away, Raven frowned at the question.

"If you keep showing up as my mentor, maybe I'll tell you. But not tonight."

Duke shrugged.

"The way things are goin' one of us is likely to end up dead soon. I told you not to count on this mentor thing lastin' too long."

Raven turned her gaze back to him.

"Maybe you wouldn't have to save me so often if… well, I've heard that some of the mentors allow their apprentices to bunk with them," she ventured.

Duke's smile faded, and he did not look pleased with the idea.

"You bein' my apprentice was never my idea, kid. And that certainly wasn't part of the plan."

She hardened her gaze and said with a firm tone,

"This isn't about sharing a bed with you. This is about surviving 'til the next day. Darion's not going to let this go."

His thoughts appeared unchanged, but Raven persisted.

"Really, my quarrel with him is your fault."

"How do ya figure that?"

"If you would have just agreed to be my mentor, I wouldn't have had to provoke Darion to gain your assistance."

Duke studied her face.

"So you think you know me pretty well, do ya? You can predict how I'll respond?"

"I didn't know if you would help me or not," Raven admitted. "But I hoped you would."

She started to walk past him and return to her room, but Duke turned around and caught her arm. Halting, Raven looked back at him.

"As it happens, my quarters has two bedrooms. You can use the other one…for now."

* * *

After Raven collected her things, Duke led her down several halls to a secluded portion of the Brotherhood's underground network. He punched a code and the door opened.

"Ladies first."

Raven tried not to smile. Duke still seemed annoyed by this idea, but whether he realized it or not, this would be good for him. She was tired of seeing him so lonely.

As she walked inside with her small collection of things, she saw that Duke's quarters consisted of an outer living area with other rooms attached to it.

"The bedroom to the left is mine. There's a bathroom over there, and you can have the small room to the right. It's got a bunk, and I'll get you some blankets."

Raven walked further into the living area and saw a few scattered chairs, a scratched-up table, and a few other pieces of old, ugly furniture.

"This looks… terrible."

Duke's brow furrowed.

"I didn't exactly come here to make this my vacation home. Sorry, if my décor isn't to your satisfaction."

He brushed past her and entered his room. A moment later, he returned with some blankets.

"My room is off limits, in case you were wondering," he said, pushing the blankets into her arms.

"I was just about to say the same thing to you," Raven said as she shifted the blankets in her arms.

Duke huffed, but she thought she saw a faint smile this time. Still, he walked off towards his room, and Raven headed to her own, with a sense of regret as she watched him go. And another memory came unbidden to her thoughts.

* * *

Back on Earth

_Gwen lay with her golden hair against Duke's chest as he held her hand and ran his fingers over the gold band on her finger. _

"_Ya know, I had several picked out with nice gems."_

_She smiled as she turned to face him in bed._

"_This is what I wanted. I had plenty of jewels as an heiress, and you certainly had enough of them in your past. We don't need them to be a part of our lives now." _

_He leaned closer and kissed her with a smile. _

"_It's been four days since our wedding, and I gotta confess that I'm starting to feel the lack of sleep during the day." _

_She laughed._

"_You're not the only one," but after a moment, Gwen's smile faded. "I know it's foolish, but even when I fall asleep for a bit, I wake up to this fear that you'll be gone when I open my eyes." _

_Duke pulled her closer and held her against him._

"_I'm not goin' anywhere, sweetheart."_

"_I know," she said, smiling again. "But I have to keep telling myself that this is not a dream." _

_She reached out and clasped his hand, touching his own wedding ring as their fingers interlaced._

"_So you're not tired of me yet?" Duke asked, teasingly with a hint of suggestion as he put his beak against her neck. _

"_No, I'm not," she answered as she let him draw her into an intimate embrace._

* * *

Sitting on the old mattress in a small, dim room, Raven slowly awakened to the present. She had set the blankets down upon the bed, but now she only thought of how empty it seemed without Duke. _If I told him who I was, he'd welcome me into his arms. And we wouldn't have to spend the night alone,_ she considered.

Suddenly rising, Raven walked to the door as if to open it, but the dark memory of Quinn Jarrow threatening Duke so many years ago…and the menacing gaze of Soléne de Fyre halted her movement. _Gwen won't be enough to save Duke from them. He'll see me as defenseless here, and I'd just get him killed trying to protect me from Soléne. _She stepped back from the door with a sigh. _Duke's only chance is to learn to trust me as Raven._

* * *

**I hope you're enjoying the story. There's more coming next week. I'm grateful for any reviews that you leave. The feedback helps!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Raven awoke in her bunk early the next morning. Sitting up, she tried to push down a lump in the mattress that had bothered her during the night. But she soon gave up with a sigh and walked to a cracked mirror on the wall.

_It still catches me by surprise to see my reflection_, she thought, considering her darker hair and feathers. Her blue eyes were the same, and she wondered if Duke ever thought of Gwendolyn Fairfeather when he saw them.

Grabbing a towel, she walked out and took a shower in the bathroom she now shared with Duke. But even after she felt clean and fresh, Raven looked with disgust at the bathroom. Duke seemed to have the worst quarters in the Brotherhood. It was hard to tell the last time this bathroom had been cleaned or the sink or toilet had been updated.

Finding some extra towels and a bucket, Raven poured hot water into the bucket. She began to scrub the surfaces as well as she could with just water. After several minutes, she saw some improvement, but there was certainly a limit to what she could do.

About half an hour later, she stepped out and returned to her room, stretching her limbs and back. The little food she had brought to her room sounded good after that work, but when Raven returned to the main room, she saw that the bathroom door was closed. Duke was up.

When the door opened, she was seated on the old couch with a book, and Duke walked out with a towel over his shoulder. He approached the couch, and Raven tried not to appear to notice that he was only wearing pants.

"You cleaned the bathroom?" he said, when she didn't look up.

"Yeah," she answered, finally lowering her book.

"Well, thanks. Though maybe you're considerin' going back to your own room after seeing what it's like here," Duke said.

"Not really," Raven answered nonchalantly, but then she added with a smile. "Unless you're offering to move in with me. I did have a better bathroom and the bed is ten times more comfortable."

Duke smiled.

"Nice try, kid. But I don't get to pick my room here."

She shot him a curious look as she stood up.

"Have you tried?"

"Tried telling Madam de Fyre to choke on her own bile?"

Raven's eyes widened, but her smile didn't fade.

"No, I haven't, but maybe it would speed things up," Duke admitted.

Raven's smiled disappeared.

"Why does she despise you so much?"

"I dunno. I lost several years of memory in prison. Sometimes I have this feeling I remember her from my time in the Brotherhood before prison, but it's never clear."

"Prison? You were arrested?"

"Renhurst … I guess. I don't really remember," Duke said with a troubled look. "If you can survive the Brotherhood, kid, your next challenge is to avoid getting caught and sent there."

Raven watched him with a solemn expression.

"And you can't remember anything? Not even flashes of things?"

"I remember when I was the leader of the Brotherhood. Did ya know that's who I used to be?"

She nodded and sat down again, waiting for him to say more. Duke stared off into the empty air.

"Do you know what it is to have everything …and then suddenly, you wake up, and you have nothing?" And then he hesitated. "Well, I guess I never got what I really wanted."

Raven sat up a little straighter.

"And what was that?"

But Duke suddenly seemed to notice how intently she was listening, and he shook his head.

"It's nothing. You're here to train, not to talk to me."

He turned back towards his room to finish changing his clothes, but Raven stood up and took a few steps after him.

"I can listen…" she insisted. "And if you're thinking it's only so I can tell it to Soléne, I swear it isn't true."

Duke stopped and glanced back at her.

"Then either you're lying or you don't understand how this works. She only made you my apprentice so you could betray me, rookie. If you don't follow through on those expectations, your life will end soon."

"She told me as much the first day we spoke," Raven answered. "So I understand why you won't trust me. But I am not going to live up to your expectations or to hers."

"You're going to refuse her demands and die for me?" Duke asked with a cynical tone.

"No, I'm going to refuse her demands because I'm not here to be a spy or an assassin. I'm here to be a thief."

Turning towards her own room, Raven walked off to finish getting ready, and Duke's silence behind her secretly encouraged her that she had at least been able to plant a seed of doubt in his mind, even if he wasn't willing to trust her yet.

* * *

The next few days in the Brotherhood were easier to bear in Duke's company. They ate meals in the dining hall, but they sat together at a table near the door, and no one bothered them. Raven pushed Duke for more training time… anything to keep him from going back to the bar. To her relief, he seemed to relent to the additional training without much protest.

One afternoon they were practicing hand-to-hand combat, and Raven tried out some more of the techniques she had practiced with Mallory. But before long, their practice turned into a wrestling match. Raven managed to swing an advantage of position and pin Duke to the mat, but he pulled her to one side with a roll that put him on top.

And Raven relented as she stared up at him with a smile. Duke was also smiling for a change.

"Gotcha, sweetheart," he said.

Raven's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't heard him use the nickname _sweetheart_ since he'd been on Earth.

"How many times does an apprentice have to _let_ her mentor win before she can turn the tables?" Raven asked.

"Oh, so this is you taking it easy on me?" Duke said with a laugh as he got up and offered her his hand.

Raven seized it and hopped up beside him with a smile.

"Of course, I intend to wait for the right moment before letting you see what I'm capable of."

Duke shot her a curious look, but Raven returned to her ready stance for her training. But this time Duke's attention was directed at something behind her. Raven turned and saw Jax watching them.

"You've been summoned," he said, directing his gaze at Raven.

She nodded, but then she directed her gaze back to Duke. He had grown quiet and distant again.

"I'll be back soon," Raven said, trying to sound positive. "We can fit some more training in later, right?"

"Maybe not tonight, rookie," Duke sighed as he turned away.

With some reluctance, she faced Jax and followed him out of the room. He led her back to Soléne's chambers.

"You and L'Orange seemed like chums for a minute there. Hope that doesn't mean you're losing sight of who the boss is," Jax said.

"Not at all," Raven assured him. "But thank you for reminding Duke that I serve Madam de Fyre after I had just begun to get what I wanted out of him."

Jax pushed her up against the wall with sudden force.

"Watch that tone with me, girl. I brought you into the Brotherhood, and I'll send you out in pieces if you can't learn your place."

Raven's neck and back felt sore as he released her, but she said nothing as she followed him on to Soléne's door. Jax cast a glare at her before he knocked, and then he opened the door and motioned for her to go inside.

"My new favorite rookie," Soléne said as Raven entered. "Come in and have a seat."

Soléne was sitting behind her desk, and Raven approached one of the chairs in front of it and sat down. Jax lingered in the back and distracted himself with pouring a drink.

"So how are things going with Duke as your mentor?" Soléne asked, watching her closely.

"Pretty good. I don't think he trusts me yet, but I'm working on that."

Raven cast a cold glance at Jax over her shoulder as she spoke.

"Good, as long as you don't forget what we discussed about loyalty," Soléne reminded her.

Raven shook her head.

"I haven't. But I did have a question."

Soléne forced a smile and waited for her to continue.

"If Duke isn't loyal to you, why haven't you killed him yet?"

"As the former leader of the Brotherhood, Duke's situation is complicated. I trust you knew that's who he used to be."

Raven nodded.

"Well, it's not enough for Duke to simply be killed. If he's not going to submit to my authority, then he needs to be destroyed …along with anyone who might have changed their loyalty to him. So with that in mind, I need to know if you are up to assisting me with Duke's ruin."

"Yes, of course," Raven said. "What do I need to do?"

"Get him to open up to you some more. Try to be …a friend to him and then be prepared to strike when I give you the order."

"Betrayal," Raven said, considering that. "Okay, any suggestions on how I get him to trust me more?"

Soléne sat back in her chair with a smile.

"You must figure out that part on your own. But remember that if you succeed in drawing him in and then prove your loyalty to me by killing him, I will promote you from apprentice to being a full member of the Brotherhood. And you will have my gratitude, which can do a lot for you down here."

Raven forced a smile.

"Is it wrong to say that I really like this mission you've given me?"

Soléne rose from her chair.

"No, just make sure you do it well. Now go and return to Duke. In a few days, I will call you back again."

Raven stood and bowed her head. Jax opened the door for her, and she left. After a moment, Jax shut it again.

"You'll need to watch that one. She may hide it around you, but she's got a stubborn streak that could lead to problems."

Soléne's smile had faded.

"It will only lead to her own death if she fails me."

* * *

Raven walked back to Duke's quarters, trying to remind herself not to clench her fists or let her expression reveal too much of her anger. She had hidden it well enough during Soléne's interview, but now that she was alone, she would have been tempted to swing a saber at a couple of walls if she had one of her own.

_I will gain Duke's trust, but only so I can free him from her grasp …and if I get the chance to cut down that witch in the process, so much the better,_ she thought.

Opening the door to the rooms she shared with Duke, Raven walked in and saw Duke sitting on the couch with a bottle. _Great, he's drinking again,_ she sighed inwardly.

She walked over and took the bottle out of his hand. Raising it to her own beak, she took a drink, but her expression reflected her disgust as she swallowed it.

"Why would you drink this garbage?" she asked, still holding the bottle.

"To forget this wonderful life of mine that is soon to end. And as for the taste, ya need money to buy good stuff, which of course I don't have."

Duke held out his hand for the bottle, but Raven set it on a table several feet away from him.

"So everything's back to square one because Soléne wanted to talk with me," she said, looking down at him.

"Nothin' ever really changed, kid. I gave you some training, but this was how it was always gonna go. Soléne wants me dead. I know that."

She sat down on the floor and leaned back against the wall.

"She does," Raven admitted. "I'll tell you everything that was said during our meeting if you want, but I doubt it will make you feel better."

Duke responded with a scornful laugh.

"I appreciate the attempt at honesty, but you don't have to pretend we're friends, rookie. I know what you have to do."

Raven shot him a determined look.

"I don't _have_ to do anything." But he didn't appear to believe her. "Okay, so _mentor_, tell me what to do. Let's say you could be the boss for a change. Command me."

Duke's gaze turned to the bottle.

"Bring that back to me."

Raven looked up at it, and after a second, she rose and picked it up. But instead of walking to Duke, she turned sharply to one side and walked towards the bathroom. Duke heard the sound of liquid being poured down the sink and then the sound of the bottle being thrown in the trash. Then Raven walked back out to him and drew a sandwich out of the pack at her waist, which she handed to him.

"I'm sure Soléne would be happy for you to drink yourself to death, and maybe that's what you want, but I'm not interested in being part of it. So this is what you get instead. I picked it up from the café on my way back."

Duke turned over the sandwich in his hand.

"I could just go back to the bar, ya know?"

Raven smiled.

"You do, and I'll follow you and start breaking as many bottles as I need to. You've already seen what I'm willing to risk with Darion. Do you think I care about making more of a mess?"

Duke began to unwrap the sandwich, and he checked it. It was the kind he preferred.

"You might be in league with Soléne to plan my death, but at least you're unconventional, rookie."

"What would be a conventional tactic?" she asked curiously, though Raven thought she could guess.

"Most females here would try seduction … or if not that, I would expect them to play the innocent victim seeking my help. But your tactic is usually to stir up trouble."

He took a bite of the sandwich, and Raven smiled at his assessment.

"Well, I didn't think seduction would work with you. That seemed far too obvious."

Duke swallowed and looked back up at her.

"It would have been, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't have let you go ahead with it."

It was a good thing he turned his focus to the sandwich and continued eating because a flash of anger crossed Raven's face. And it didn't fade quickly either, even when she tried to remind herself that he didn't know he was married. _For all he knows, he will never see Gwendolyn Fairfeather again – not to mention that he believes she left him. But I still want to punch him for saying that to another girl, …well, to someone he thinks is another girl._

It wasn't that she couldn't have used some form of seduction to draw Duke in. After all, she knew what he liked. It hadn't been necessary for them to be married long before she learned that. But Raven knew that such a tactic would not help Duke to trust her. And it would likely lead him to become more accepting of his current situation.

_I don't want to lull him further into complacency and surrender,_ she thought. _I must wake him up_. _I can only hope that if he sees my defiance and resistance, that it might also inspire him to defy Soléne as well_.

"We'll be sticking to training," she said, trying to push away her feelings. "So why don't you just finish your sandwich and get some rest. I want to start early tomorrow."

Without waiting for him to answer, Raven walked back to her room and closed the door behind her.

Duke stood up from the couch and set down the remaining portion of his sandwich on a nearby table. His thoughts were muddled from drinking, but he didn't think it was alcohol making his apprentice's actions seem odd.

_She pretends not to like me, but I think she kinda does… or I'm way outta my depth with this one. _Duke found that he was intrigued by her responses, and he wished she would have stayed with him longer, rather than leaving him with his own dismal thoughts. Raven was a nice distraction from everything that was going wrong down here. _It's like I never know what she'll do or say next_.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A Dangerous Dance

The next morning, Duke found that he had slept later than he meant to. Too many questions about his new apprentice had troubled his thoughts before he could fall asleep_. I like her a little too muc_h, he realized. _That can't be a good thing in my situation_.

When he had knocked on Raven's door, she hadn't answered, so he assumed she was already in their usual training room. _Probably upset that I'm late_, he thought.

As he reached the training room, Duke didn't see anyone inside at first. But then he caught sight of some movement behind one of the screens that separated the exercise equipment from the fencing platforms.

"Raven?"

A feminine figure walked out from behind the screen, but Duke's expression darkened when he saw it was Soléne de Fyre. Her attire consisted of a low-cut tank made of sheer fabric and tight black pants. There was a towel over her shoulder as if she had been training, but there was not a feather out of place as her dark eyes locked onto him.

"I've not seen your apprentice, but since you're here, why not join me?"

Duke responded with a scornful laugh.

"No thanks, …_boss_."

But as he turned to leave, she walked closer and caught hold of his arm.

"I've been patient, Duke. But you don't seem to realize how easy it would be to change your circumstances." She drew herself close to him, while maintaining a firm grip on his arm. "I am the one who can give you back your freedom."

But under her grasp, Duke stiffened. It wasn't that he failed to notice her beauty or the attractive curves of her body, but his instincts recoiled …as they had each time she had raised the suggestion.

"This refusal to adapt has only led you to misery," Soléne continued, and she drew off the towel from her shoulder with her free hand. "But I can give you so much, if you just stop resisting…"

She had started to draw the towel around his neck, but Duke shook it off and pulled away from her. From his conversation with Raven the other night, Duke couldn't help thinking of her comment about seduction as an obvious tactic.

"I'm not Jax… or one of your other pawns, Soléne."

Her gaze turned cold she stepped back.

"You're a fool," but then she made one more attempt. "Name whatever it is you want. And I can get it for you."

Duke shook his head.

"See, that's exactly what tells me you can't."

He started to walk out of the room, but her tone grew louder and more commanding.

"If you walk away from me …if you go back to that pathetic amateur, that's your death sentence, L'Orange. I swear that every duck in the Brotherhood will see just how much of a failure you have become."

Duke looked back at her over his shoulder as he stood in the doorway.

"I've been waitin' for you to kill me since the day I returned. The only surprise here is that you haven't tried to take me out sooner."

He didn't even wait to see Soléne's reaction before walking out and heading down the hall. Back in the training room, Soléne clenched her fists as she cursed him. Even after losing so much of his memory, she couldn't control him. Soléne waited only a few seconds before storming out of the training room to return to her own quarters.

Once she reached the far end of the hall, Raven moved out from around a corner. Her plans to meet Duke for a training session after eating a late breakfast had led her to something unexpected. And her blood boiled now as she glared at Soléne's retreating form. Her only consolation for having to stay out of sight during that conversation was that Raven had heard Duke completely deny Soléne. But even with that comfort, Raven was disturbed by Soléne's desire for Duke.

_This isn't just about Duke being a member of the Brotherhood whom she wants to control_, Raven considered. _Soléne has a personal interest in Duke_, _and there must be something in Duke's past life in the Brotherhood that is influencing it. _

* * *

Raven eventually found Duke on his way back to the bar, but she managed to persuade him to keep to their original agreement to train that day. She was so insistent about the training that by the time they returned to quarters, both had an excess of sore muscles, and Raven knew he would never agree to more physical training that day, so she decided to try something different.

While Duke took a shower, she went out to grab food for them from the Brotherhood's café and quickly returned. By the time he stepped out of the bathroom, she had soup and bread sitting out on the table.

"I was gonna head down to the dining hall," Duke said, glancing at the table.

"I used a fair bit of my credit to get this," Raven persisted. "The bar will still be there later, but this won't be."

Duke let out a scornful huff.

"If you're gonna spend your credit on me, you could at least buy me a good drink."

Raven drew out a chair for him before sitting down herself, shooting him an expectant gaze. After a moment, Duke finally walked over and sat down. He inspected the soup and with some surprise found it to be a savory kind with vegetables that he actually liked.

"Who told you what sandwiches and soup I like?" Duke asked after swallowing a spoonful. He studied her with a curious gaze.

Raven paused for a second and then said with an innocent tone,

"Oh, you like this kind?"

"No, no, sweetheart. Don't play this game," Duke scoffed. "The other day you bring me a sandwich I like without asking me what kind I want. And today, you picked out this soup. Then there's the fact that we usually eat in the hall, so we haven't had enough meals at the café for you to know what I like or don't like."

Raven smiled.

"Maybe Soléne told me. That's what you're thinking, isn't it?"

Duke turned the spoon around in his fingers as he considered Raven.

"Funny thing is I didn't think Soléne knew either."

"Maybe I'm just good at guessing," Raven suggested, but Duke didn't seem to appreciate her secrecy. So she added, "All right, I'll tell you if you tell me something."

"Tell you what?"

"Well, another way of training me would be telling me stories about the Brotherhood from your past. I should learn from your experience, don't you think?"

Duke laughed.

"Learn what _not _to do, ya mean."

Raven stirred her soup with her spoon and seemed to be considering her next words carefully.

"Well, if you're not happy here, was there ever a time when you thought about leaving the Brotherhood?

"'Course, but that's where I went wrong it seems," Duke said grimly. "Once you're in the Brotherhood …even in training, you don't get the option of leaving."

"I know it's different with Soléne in charge, but in the past, you must have known ways to get out without others watching you. You know, just to get a break for a while."

"Yeah, there used to be a secret exit. Ultimately though, it didn't do me any good."

Raven looked up at him with interest, but Duke swallowed another spoonful of soup before he noticed.

"Where was it? This secret exit?"

"Why would ya want to know?" Duke asked. "I told ya. It didn't help me in the end."

"Fine, but you can still tell me where it is, can't you?"

Duke ate some more of his soup and then said,

"No, I'm still waitin' for you to explain your interest."

Raven sighed.

"Look, Jax snatched me from the streets and brought me to a training base. Then I managed to get myself here, but I didn't exactly choose this life, okay? Now tell me where the exit is."

Duke lifted his bowl and drank what remained of his soup before turning to look at her.

"Maybe you're bein' honest with me and you really do just want to escape. If that's true, then the exit's no good, kid. You'll just get yourself in trouble tryin' to run away. Take it from someone who knows."

He grabbed his bread and stood up before walking to his bedroom. Raven sighed when he shut his door. This was where not being honest with him created problems.

* * *

The next day after training, Raven found herself so tired that she succumbed to a nap in her room. When she woke up and returned to the main room, she supposed Duke had gone to the bar. She wondered if she should go out to the bar and look for Duke. They usually walked to the dining hall together to get food, but it was still early. He could still return for her.

As she considered these things, Raven stopped by a small cabinet against the wall. Her thoughts were temporarily suspended as curiosity set in, and she opened the cabinet. Most of the items inside were junk, but a gray cylinder caught her attention. Taking it out and setting it on the top of the cabinet, she noted that it was a Melodcyll. You could record music and play it back with such a device.

Finding the play button, she pressed it to see what had been recorded on this one. The first song was a bad recording, and it had an obnoxious tune. But as she selected the other options, she eventually came to a waltz that she recognized.

Closing her eyes, Raven stood by it and embraced the familiarity of the music. In the next moment, she backed away and began to enact the steps she had danced to this song in her past. This lasted a few minutes before she opened her eyes, but suddenly she stopped dancing as she saw Duke standing just outside his room, watching her.

"I… I thought you went out," she said in surprise, and she quickly walked to the Melodcyll and turned off the song.

He stared at her intently.

"Where'd you learn to dance like that?"

"I had some lessons as a kid before my parents split up, and then after that… well, I've seen it done before, okay?"

Duke walked back to the device and started the same song up. Then he held out his hand to her. But she appeared reluctant to take it.

"I'm makin' this a training exercise. Come on," he urged.

She finally gave him her hand, and he drew her into the right position in front of him. Then he began to lead, and Raven followed the steps. But she made certain to miss some of the steps to make her dancing less than perfect.

As the song continued though, dancing with Duke brought back memories and a kind of comfort that she hadn't known in weeks. She thought less about making mistakes and just enjoyed the moment. Duke drew her closer to him, and she watched his expression soften as he held her near to him.

When the song halted with faltering notes at the end of the recording, they stopped, but Duke was still staring at her face.

"Why do you have her eyes?" he said with some confusion.

Raven felt self-conscious under his gaze, but she forced herself to keep looking at him.

"Who's eyes?"

Duke sighed and turned away, putting a hand to his head.

"Nothing, I must be imaginin' the resemblance."

Raven could feel her heart beat quickly as she debated whether to tell him the truth. But there was still so much at stake. Suddenly, the door opened, and Raven stepped away from Duke as Jax entered.

"The boss has called for you."

Raven glanced back at Duke, but he had turned away from her. So she walked on with Jax.

* * *

A few minutes later, she was sitting before Soléne's desk, dreading what was coming.

"I hear that Duke is spending less time at the bar. That must mean you are at least adequately distracting him," Soléne noted.

"Yes, I think I am. But I feel like I am close to accomplishing more."

Soléne raised her hand.

"That won't be necessary. I have been too tolerant with Duke."

Raven grew quiet as Soléne lifted a small blade in a sheath and set it on the desk.

"I want you to invite Duke to join you in the dining hall tonight, and then in front of everyone there, stab him with this."

Raven looked down at the dagger on the desk.

"I can't do that."

Soléne's gaze turned colder, and Jax stepped up closer with his saber drawn. But Soléne raised her hand to halt him.

"I'll give you a chance to change that thoughtless answer."

Looking at both of them as if she hadn't realized what she'd said, Raven quickly added,

"No, I mean if I kill Duke now, I won't learn where he hid the jewels from the Tospeare heist."

Both Jax and Soléne's expressions changed to one of surprise.

"The Tospeare heist? He mentioned that to you?"

Raven caught the interest in Soléne's gaze and hoped that this plan would work. She knew it was the only card she had to play.

"Yeah, you know he's been drinking a lot, and he's started to get careless around me. So one night I got him to ramble on about the Tospeare heist. It seems he made up the story about the jewels being fake, because he couldn't sell them on the black market as soon as he wanted to. They were too hot, so he hid them, and lately he's been thinking about them again."

"But he didn't say where?" Jax asked.

"Not yet, but I think I can get it out of him. But only if I have some more time," Raven said, emphasizing that last part.

Soléne watched her with a suspicious gaze and said,

"Given that you are so inexperienced, I wonder if you truly understand the stakes here."

Raven watched her quietly, choosing to keep her beak shut.

"Although the Tospeare jewels are a fine prize, I do not like to have my patience tested."

"I understand, Madame de Fyre," came a cautious answer. "And you will get your wish. It is only a matter of time. So why not take one more thing from Duke L'Orange before his death?"

The leader of the Brotherhood considered her words and seemed to be satisfied.

"Very well, I suppose we can spare a little time. But more is expected of you as a result of these conditions. And if you fail, the punishment will be all the more severe."

Raven nodded, looking serious, but then she added,

"I'll have to gain more of Duke's trust to get the location. But earning his trust is difficult when he knows I work for you. I hope you'll understand if I have to take some extreme measures to deceive him."

Soléne regarded her again.

"Do what you must, but every time you cross a line, there will be consequences. Is that understood?"

Raven nodded again before standing and leaving the dagger on the desk behind her, she exited as Jax watched.

"Do you think she's telling the truth?" he asked Soléne.

The leader of the Brotherhood drummed her fingers on her desk as she stared down at the dagger.

"She must have heard something. How else could she have known to mention the Tospeare's jewels? But still, watch her."

* * *

Raven still felt her heart beating quickly as she walked back to Duke's quarters. She hadn't been certain her plan would work, but she remembered Duke telling her back on Earth about this one job he pulled. He had been angry with himself for falling for fake jewels, but when he went back to steal the real ones, he learned that the Tospeare's never had any real ones. Everything they owned were carefully made replicas of real gems.

Later he laughed about the rumors that circulated around the Brotherhood about him having hidden the real gems. Everyone else seemed to have trouble believing he could be deceived, and the Tospeares addressed their situation in the news as if priceless gems really had been stolen. But only because they didn't want the truth to come out. Duke found the whole thing amusing and said that he had sometimes let hints drop about possible hiding places. But since there were no gems to find, everyone who looked was only frustrated in the end.

Raven's thoughts grew more serious as she considered how the story had saved her and Duke's lives today. They were running out of time. Escape from the Brotherhood had to come soon, and this secret exit might be the only way.

Debating whether to tell him the truth about her identity or not, she walked back into Duke's quarters. He was slumped on the couch with an empty bottle at his feet. She cast a glare at him, but he didn't seem to notice.

"I drank it before you returned this time," he said. "But you can still sit with me, sweetheart."

When she walked closer, he pulled on her wrist, and Raven sat down on the couch beside him.

"I know you don't believe me, but Soléne hasn't changed my mind," Raven said. "I'm not here to be your enemy, Duke."

His hand had remained on her arm after she sat down, and Duke now traced his fingers over her arm and hand.

"So don't be my enemy," he said and taking hold of her arm, he suddenly drew her closer to him as he leaned over and nuzzled her neck with his beak. In the next moment, he was kissing her, and Raven did not stop him due to her surprise.

But then as she forgot about where they were, her desire for him rushed back in a moment, and she kissed him as he held more tightly to her. She could feel his loneliness in his touch, which was both gentle and strong.

Yet, this only lasted for a moment before she remembered that she wasn't Gwen, and they weren't back on Earth, safe at the Pond. As this occurred to her, she pushed back firmly against him and darted up from the couch as he released her.

"No, this isn't happening," she said decisively. "Not like this."

"Oh, come on, rookie," Duke urged. "If this isn't good enough, we'll go out… or we can go to the bedroom."

Raven crossed her arms over her chest.

"_We _are not going anywhere, especially not while you're drunk!"

As if on cue, Duke stopped slouching and the look in his good eye suddenly seemed more focused.

"Wait, are you drunk?" Raven asked, her tone changing as she guessed the answer.

"Sorry, kid, I had to see how you would respond. I figured that Soléne's spy would leap at the chance to take advantage of my lack of self-control. But once again, you did something unexpected." And then he looked at her harder. "Including that kiss, it kinda felt like you might actually be attracted to me."

Raven was dealing with multiple emotions, several running in conflict to others, but she decided to give in to her anger.

"Don't flatter yourself," she said coldly, kicking the bottle on the floor out of her way.

After storming off towards her room, she paused at the doorway and said, "And just in case you get any other bright ideas, keep your distance from my room."

She shut the door and took a deep breath. Raven knew she wasn't as angry as she had just acted, but it seemed better to let Duke think he had offended her.

Back in the main room, Duke remained seated on the couch as he stared off towards her door. The evening had not gone as he had expected. He had anticipated that she would pretend to be interested in him and act as Soléne's spy… or possibly even try to kill him in such a moment. And he had planned to expose her.

But she had rejected the opportunity. She hadn't even tried to use it to seduce him. Although, maybe she had still succeeded there. Duke had enjoyed kissing her more than he thought he would. And the kiss that she had returned… there was something genuine about that. _She couldn't really like me, could she?_ Duke wondered. The way she had gotten angry with him suggested that she felt more than she had admitted.

He couldn't believe that he was actually wishing he could follow her into her bedroom. But the more he considered it, the more he realized that he was attracted to Raven – and a in way that surpassed a mere temporary interest. He couldn't remember feeling this way about anyone since Gwen. But remembering Gwen led him to more sober thoughts.

He wasn't thinking rationally. Even if Raven could be interested in him, she would either be killed by Soléne for refusing to betray him… or she would choose to act against her feelings, and betray him anyway. _There's no good way for this to end_, Duke reminded himself.

* * *

When morning came, Raven stepped out of her room, wondering what she should expect from Duke today, but she found him sitting at the table with a book that he seemed to hardly be paying attention to.

As soon as he saw her, he walked closer, though he often dropped his gaze instead of meeting her eyes.

"Look, I thought I should apologize," Duke said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I had my reasons for testing you, but I took it too far."

Raven responded with a flicker of a smile.

"No, I get it. You just surprised me, that's all."

"You surprised me too."

His gaze met hers, and now Raven looked away, still questioning whether she should tell him who she was.

The door opened, and Jax walked into the room again. Raven shot him a glare. Apparently, Jax wanted it known that Duke had no rights to privacy.

"Morning, Jax," Duke said coldly. "Don't tell me Soléne wants her pawn back so soon?"

"It's an Arena Day. I was told to deliver the news to you two personally."

Then he smiled and left just as suddenly as he had arrived. Raven watched him go with some confusion, but when she turned back to Duke, she saw the concern in his expression.

"What's an Arena Day?" Raven asked hesitantly.

"Fights are held within the Brotherhood…sometimes Soléne decides on them very suddenly like today." He paused and then asked, "Does this have anything to do with the meeting you had with her yesterday?"

Raven wondered if maybe it did, but she just shook her head.

"I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"'Cause the way Jax was smilin' …I doubt it means good news."

* * *

**More to come soon! I may have another chapter finished at the end of this weekend. Hope you are enjoying the story!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the delay. My internet was down. I managed to published chapter 6 before the weekend, and now I am adding chapter 7 as well!**

* * *

Chapter 7

An Exercise in Trust

After being summoned by Jax, Raven warily followed Duke down halls and stairs to a lower level of the Brotherhood that was new to her. Eventually, they entered a large room that sloped down towards a circular ring.

"Was this here when you led the Brotherhood?" Raven asked.

"It was here. We just didn't use it," Duke sighed. "Come on, we'd better go down and figure out what this is about."

They walked down steps to the seats just around the edge of the ring. Soléne and Jax were seated on a separate platform a little above them. And all of the other members of the Brotherhood were present, sitting around the arena.

"Today we host more challenges for the glory of one of our members. And for those who fail, today is a reminder that if they do not measure up to the challenges we face, then they will fall behind and suffer disgrace."

Several other members of the Brotherhood cheered their approval, and Soléne waited before she continued.

"For our first match, we will let one of our newest members, Myros, prove himself against a bold apprentice, who has not yet earned her place among us."

Soléne turned her gaze down to her left.

"Raven, step out and prove yourself."

Sensing that there was no choice being offered to her, Raven felt her heartbeat quicken, but she left Duke's side and walked down and out into the ring. But though she didn't hear him, Duke drew closer to Soléne's platform and said in a hushed voice,

"She's been here _less_ than two weeks."

Soléne observed his concern.

"Growing soft on her already, are you? I thought you didn't want an apprentice."

Duke sensed that this was an argument he was not going to win, so he backed off and moved to watch.

Out in the ring, Raven saw that her opponent was a tall, yet slim drake with white feathers and brown hair. He also seemed a little uneasy about being commanded to prove himself, but he watched her with a scornful gaze.

Another duck entered and placed two deactivated sabers on the ground.

"When the buzzer sounds, go for your weapon. All moves are allowed, but you will win the match by disarming your opponent."

Raven readied herself and as soon as the mediator stepped out, a buzzer sounded and she raced for one of the sabers. She seized it just at the same time that Myros picked up his, and they both turned with blades activated.

Focusing on the moves she had learned in her training, Raven responded with precision in defending herself from Myros' first strikes. It seemed prudent to let him strike first and learn his methods before giving away too much of her own.

Minutes passed as Raven still found her way through his various attempts to overwhelm her. She saw him tiring and becoming frustrated that she was not proving as easy to defeat as he had hoped. Finally, Raven began to strike back and regained some ground. She could hear other ducks shouting at them from the stands, but she didn't heed their words. Nothing mattered but following the pattern of her opponent's blade.

Suddenly, an opening presented itself to her, and she pretended to reveal a weakness in her defense to draw Myros forward. But when he fell for it, she swept up her saber and knocked his blade from his hand.

The arena became silent as Raven breathed heavily and held her blade near Myros' neck, daring him to move.

The sound of clapping was heard, and Raven turned to see Soléne standing and applauding her. Some of the others in the audience clapped more reluctantly or not at all. Duke was only standing and watching.

"Well done, my young protégé," Soléne said with a smile. "But you have left him unmarked. Perhaps your style is too much like your mentor's. An injury will better teach Myros his place. One slash with the blade should be enough."

Raven cast a quick glance at Duke and saw that he was troubled, but not surprised by Soléne's demand. She turned back to the duck standing before her without his saber. He seemed angry yet resigned to what was to come. But Grin's words came back to her from before she had left her friends. _Don't lose yourself_.

Stepping back, though still holding the saber, Raven said,

"Losing to me is punishment enough. I'm not striking him when he can't defend himself."

Duke's gaze reflected his surprise, and he quickly looked up at Soléne. That she did not like having her will refused was clear.

"We will give Myros's weapon back to him then," she said. "And let us see if he is as generous when the situation is reversed."

Myros received his saber back eagerly, and the fight began again. Raven fought back to defend herself and tried to disarm him again, but he seemed better prepared for her moves this time. And finally, her saber was knocked from her hand.

Myros looked up at Soléne, who nodded, and he advanced towards Raven with his blade. Duke swung himself over the barrier and moved to her side, causing Myros to halt again. Duke didn't have a saber of his own to draw, but Myros was wary of attacking one and leaving the other free to oppose him.

"Duke, this interference will not aid your apprentice. This is a lesson she needs to learn," Soléne said.

"And which one of us is her mentor? Me? Or you?"

A moment of tense silence followed his question, and Raven turned to Duke and whispered,

"I can take this. Just get back before she has both of us killed."

"You have no idea what you're doin'," Duke protested.

But Raven took a step away from him, and then suddenly she ran towards Myros. He reacted defensively and swung his saber at her. It caught her arm, and Raven drew back, holding her bleeding arm.

Duke rushed over to her, and Myros backed off, looking up at Soléne.

"If your apprentice cannot follow orders, she will receive much worse than that," Soléne said to Duke. "But that will be enough for today. You are both dismissed from the remainder of the event."

Duke tore off a piece of her ripped sleeve and tied it around the wound. He kept one hand on her shoulder as he led her out of the room.

* * *

Back in Duke's quarters, he had her sit down on the couch as he gathered some things to tend to her wound. The makeshift bandage was already stained with her blood, and Raven felt a sharp pain throb in her upper arm. She drew in deep breaths and tried not to focus on it.

Duke returned and knelt beside her, setting several things on the couch and floor around her. After removing the rough bandage, he cut away the rest of her sleeve from her top with scissors and he removed it entirely from her arm to expose the wound. Raven winced as the cloth around the wound was pulled away, but she tried to keep quiet.

Next, Duke used a wet cloth to clean the blood from her arm, and Raven focused on sitting still despite the pain she felt.

"You don't have to be so brave with me, sweetheart," Duke said with a gentle tone. "You think I don't know what this feels like?"

And the pain seemed to lessen for a moment as Raven remembered the time she had tended to Duke's injuries when they were young. It had been the first time they met.

"I guess most here are left to treat their own wounds, so you have to learn how to take care of yourself," she said.

Duke nodded, and he gave her a clean cloth to press against the wound as fresh blood seeped out. But then he turned his focus to an antiseptic solution, which he applied to another cloth and would use to prevent infection. Suddenly, Raven remembered what Tanya had told her about certain solutions being able to remove the brown stain from her feathers. And as Duke raised the cleaning agent, she threw up a hand to stop him.

"Wait, um, I'd rather do it myself," she said quickly.

Duke shot her a confused look, but he handed it to her. Raven used it on her own arm, but she clenched her beak as it stung. But she tried to keep it mostly on her wound and not apply it to any additional feathers if she could help it. So far it didn't appear to be changing the color, and she grew more relaxed.

"Sorry, it's just I knew it would sting," she said when she finished and handed the cloth back to Duke.

"Well, this next part's gonna hurt too, but I think you should let me handle the stitches."

She forced a smile and nodded.

"Thanks… for your help."

Duke scoffed and shook his head, though he smiled a bit.

"You're not gonna feel so grateful after I stick you with this needle."

He cleaned the needle and threaded it before taking her arm firmly and starting the stitches. It did hurt, and Raven groaned, feeling very tempted to pull away, but Duke held her still.

"Why didn't you just do what Soléne told you to do?" Duke asked.

"Because it was wrong," Raven said, wincing as she spoke.

Duke laughed.

"You got some kind of high moral code, kid? Is that why you joined the Brotherhood?"

"If you don't have some kind of code, then you're just letting other people tell you who you are for the rest of your life. I told you that I wasn't gonna let Soléne dictate who I was."

After finishing the last stitches, he drew back and looked at her.

"You shouldn't be here, Raven."

He rarely said her name, and it sounded strange coming from him now.

"Neither should you," she answered. "Whatever the Brotherhood used to be, it's different now. We both need to get out of here."

Duke turned his face away, but Raven knelt down beside him and put her hand on his arm. Turning his face back towards her with her other hand, she leaned forward and kissed him.

His response was hesitant for a moment, but then he returned her kiss with one that expressed his own longing. Duke drew her closer, but Raven pulled back after a moment, though she kept her hand on his arm.

"Please, Duke. Tell me where the secret exit is."

He sighed.

"There's no point. We'd never get out that way."

"At least let me decide that for myself," Raven insisted.

But he pulled away from her and stood up. She stared at him in surprise.

"I don't understand. What could you possibly have to lose by telling me?"

Duke put away the medical supplies, but finally, he glanced back at her with a suspicious gaze.

"You've been eager to get the location from me, even after I've told you that there's no escape that way. Maybe your eagerness stems from the fact that Soléne wanted you to get this information from me."

Raven rose to her feet, still watching him with surprise, but now her expression was marked by some impatience and anger as well.

"You still think I'm her spy?"

"I don't know who you are. But if you are working for her and I tell you what she wants to know, then all of this comes to an end."

Raven's anger faded as she heard his tone change to one of regret. Duke turned towards her, and for once, he seemed to be dropping his guard.

"Whether you are a spy or not, I've grown attached, sweetheart," he continued. "Soléne's gonna have her revenge when she rips us apart. Betrayal or death, she'll find a way."

Eager to reassure him, Raven took a step forward, but then she quickly halted. Duke's hesitation returned as he studied her.

"I did tell Soléne that I would get some information for her."

Duke seemed taken aback by her confession, and Raven quickly continued.

"I told her that I would find out what you did with the jewels from the Tospeare heist. You see, she was giving me the order to kill you, so I tried the only thing I could to stall for more time."

He seemed a little relieved by her explanation and possibly even a little amused.

"Those jewels don't exist."

Raven shook her head.

"I don't care. It was just a trick to buy us some more time. But after today, I'm not sure it worked."

Duke walked back to her, taking her hand in his.

"I didn't give you any reason to care for me," he said with some confusion. "Yet, you're risking your life to spare mine."

He leaned forward to kiss her, but after a moment, Raven pulled away.

"Not until you tell me where this exit is," she demanded. "If it is impossible to escape that way, I want to know why."

Duke released a short laugh.

"You really are stubborn. Fine, I'll do better than tell you. I'll show you."

* * *

Being careful to avoid curious eyes, Duke led Raven down less traveled halls of the Brotherhood until they came to a ledge that looked down upon a lower level that appeared mostly to be in ruins.

"Don't lean too far out unless you want to attract attention," Duke said. "But down there behind those metal panels are some old pipes. They're about four feet in diameter. And they're supposed to run all the way to the surface."

"So they're not in use now, I'm assuming, but what were the pipes for?" Raven asked.

"Back during Drake Ducaine's life when the Saurians invaded, these lower levels were used as a refuge, and the only access were those pipes."

"They are really old then," Raven said, sounding more doubtful about the escape route. "How do you know someone could still take them to the top?"

"Because in my younger years it's how I escaped the Brotherhood if I wanted to get out for a change. But the old leader found out and had them blocked off."

"But you don't think Soléne knows about it?"

Duke shook his head.

"But we'd have to get through a wall first, and then there might be additional barriers inside the pipes. It's hard to say what kinda shape they're in now."

"If we had a saber, we could cut through those metal panels."

"But we don't have one,' Duke corrected. "And Soléne would never give either of us one."

"But you used to have a saber of your own, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but it's long gone. Probably seized when I was arrested."

Raven frowned. _It was seized by someone_, she thought angrily. _But not the authorities_.

"I need you to go back to the bar," she said.

Duke shot her a confused look, but Raven was already forming a plan.

* * *

While Duke drew attention to himself at the bar and told everyone that Raven was resting, trying to recover from her wounds. She snuck down to Soléne's chambers and drew a small bracelet that appeared to be made of simple beads off her wrist. Rotating a white bead, Raven held the bracelet towards the chamber and waited for a second. A blue light shimmered beneath the surface of the beads and then faded.

_Heat sensors don't detect anyone inside_, Raven thought. _Thanks, Tanya._

Using the code she had watched Jax punch to open the door earlier, Raven felt her heart beating as the door unsealed itself and let her in. Hurrying to Soléne's desk, Raven opened the drawers. She didn't see Duke's saber, but she did find a familiar gold ring, which she hurriedly tucked in her pouch.

Closing the drawers, she checked some of the other furniture in the room. As she turned to examine the room, Raven noticed a camera on the far wall, but she just glared at it. _Well, let her find out it was me. If this plan doesn't work, I was a dead duck anyway_, she decided. Moving quickly around the rest of the room, Raven tried to consider where the saber might be.

As she paused, she noticed an ornate chest by the large bed in the back room. Raven noticed that it was locked, but she had learned long ago how to pick a simple tumbler lock. Using the small pins she carried with her, Raven got it open and quickly pushed back the lid.

There were some other strange items inside, including an old picture of Duke, but just under a blue scarf, Raven found Duke's golden saber, which she drew out with a smile.

"Got it!" she said under her breath.

Knowing she shouldn't linger, Raven thrust down the lid of the chest and began to hurry out of the room, when she looked back at Soléne's desk. She had left some of the drawers open, and in one of them was the dagger Soléne had wanted her to use on Duke.

Raven glanced at the camera again as she considered something, but she knew that she needed to hurry. It was time for her and Duke to leave the Brotherhood.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Escape

Duke returned to his room after about an hour based on their agreement. Raven hadn't told him what she planned to do, but she had promised to explain after he played his part of acting inconspicuous.

When he entered, Duke found that her hair was bound behind her head and she was wearing dark clothes.

"So you gonna tell me what me going to the bar was about?"

"In a minute, but first, I need to know if you want to take any of this with you," she said, pointing to his things which she had laid out on the couch. "We're leaving in a few minutes, so if you want something, grab it."

"Leaving, how?" Duke asked with a skeptical laugh.

"Through the pipes," Raven insisted. "Now do you want this stuff or not?"

"Look, I told you. We can't get through…"

Duke was silenced as she suddenly held his saber out for him to take.

"How did you get that?"

"I don't have time to explain. Soléne might be here any second," Raven said as she put the saber into his hand and shoved some of his stuff in a backpack. "Come on, we have to move before someone comes looking for us."

Duke glanced at her bandaged arm.

"Maybe I should take another look at your wound before we go. Climbing through those pipes is going to be rough on your arm."

Raven put her hand over the bandage protectively.

"No, I already checked it. But we seriously have to go."

Duke seemed dissatisfied, but he followed her as she led him back out into the halls. But Raven let him take the lead in directing them back to the pipes. Every so often, she caught sight of another duck down one of the corridors, but no one seemed to be looking for them yet.

When they reached the ledge, Duke helped her climb down to the lower level and they approached the metal paneling. She nodded, and Duke activated his saber, which he used at its hottest setting to melt and cut through the metal. The cutout portion landed on the ground in front of them.

"Climbing through these pipes is going to take time," Duke sighed. "And this is gonna make it pretty obvious that we took this route. Of course, all of this is assumin' we can actually get out."

"We will," Raven insisted. "But don't worry about the hole."

She drew out a small round make-up case, which she opened and set upon the ground. A light emitted from it, and a picture was projected above them.

"Those looking from the ledge above will just see this hologram. It's a picture of the wall intact that I took earlier."

"You carry a hologram projector with you?" Duke asked in surprise.

"It was a gift from a friend," Raven said with a smile and shrug. "But we should get moving."

Duke deactivated his saber and entered the pipe first with Raven quickly following him. She twisted another bead on her bracelet, and a mini flashlight was activated to give them some light.

"How many other gadgets do you have?" Duke asked.

"Just one other that I haven't used yet."

There were crude ladder rungs inside the pipes for them to use to climb upwards. But as Duke had warned, it was a long and slow process. Raven's arm was starting to hurt, and she tried to rely on her left arm more, but that only helped for so long. But at some point, they came to a grate that blocked off one pipe from another.

"This is what I was afraid of finding," Duke said. "But I could get my saber out again."

"Wait," Raven said, drawing out a medium-sized hair pin and handing it up to him. "Point it towards the grate, and push that small edge up."

Duke did so, and a small laser shot out in a continuous beam. He was able to use it to cut through the grate. Then he caught the grate and handed the pin back to her.

"And that's the last gadget," Raven said. "I'm not sure if the laser will work a second time, so hopefully that's the only grate."

"I underestimated you, sweetheart," Duke admitted. "Your arm still okay though?"

"Yeah, I'll make it."

He caught the weariness in her voice, but their only good option was to keep moving.

* * *

Soléne de Fyre walked back to her chambers with Jax at her side after having spent much of her time in the common rooms with other members of the Brotherhood. The celebration of Myros's victory in the arena had been a long one, and the sight of Duke at the bar had increased her sense of triumph at his distress.

"Do you want me to join you tonight?" Jax asked suggestively with a smile.

Soléne considered the offer and finally answered with a nod.

"I hope you'll let me get at least one swing at Duke when the time comes," Jax said as they walked inside. "It'll come soon, right?"

"It will, indeed. That girl is proving to be a nuisance. And I'll not tolerate her anymore."

"What if she gets the information about the Tospeare heist?"

As she approached the door to her bedroom, Soléne turned and posed with a malicious smile.

"Then she can have a quick death instead of a slow one."

Jax grinned as his gaze traced her form, and he approached slowly. As Soléne led the way through the door, Jax followed, thinking only with anticipation. But she halted before a wardrobe that had mirrors on its door.

"Is it true what they're saying about this drug we used on Duke? You've heard the rumors, haven't you?"

Jax responded with a low hum as he slipped his hand over her shoulder and drew close to her.

"Yeah, they say the new batches of the ZYT901 are wearing off. That's why we need to take Duke out … you know, before his memories come back."

He leaned down as if to kiss her neck, but Soléne waved him back.

"Go and wait on the bed."

Jax drew back, hiding his impatience, as he moved to the bed with a furrowed brow. Soléne admired herself in the mirror for another moment before opening the door to look for the lingerie she wanted to wear. But as she drew the left door open, her eyes widened and she stepped back.

Plunged into the surface of the door's interior was the dagger that she usually kept in her desk. Beneath the point of the blade was a torn piece of thick paper. And written in large, elegant letters with trailing edges that devolved into jagged shapes were these words:

_Come after Duke, and that'll be your death sentence. Oh, and thanks for the ticket into the Brotherhood. But don't expect us to return. _

Soléne let out an audible cry as she finished reading the note and tore it from her door. Jax instantly sat up on the bed, and he watched in confusion as she moved to her chest and began fumbling to unlock it with the key that she always kept on her.

"What is it?" Jax asked, and then he saw the dagger.

He rose and inspected it as Soléne flung open the chest, which she found already unlocked, and began to throw items out of it.

"No one else knew it was here!" she protested as she searched for it.

"What?! What are you looking for?" Jax asked.

Soléne clenched the chest in rage when she couldn't find Duke's saber, and she turned it over onto the floor. Jax stepped back as she turned and moved quickly to her desk. Pulling open drawers, Soléne finally halted and grew quiet as she opened one particular drawer.

But instead of the ring she had taken from Duke's hand, she saw the picture of him that had been locked in her chest. Only now the picture was stained with dark ink so that Duke's image was hardly visible.

Soléne picked it up, and after a moment, she crumpled it in her hand.

"Bring me, Duke …and his brat," she commanded in a cold voice.

Jax walked into the same room and started to move slowly towards the door. His expression was marked by frustration and confusion.

"You gonna tell me what this is about?"

Soléne slammed the drawer of her desk.

"Now! I want them kneeling before me!"

Jax frowned as he exited swiftly, and once he was gone, Soléne opened the recordings from her camera. Scanning back through the video, she finally came to what she was looking for. Playing it back, she clearly saw Raven rummaging through her rooms. But before Raven left, she clearly held up the ring to the camera. And with her other hand, she raised the dagger as if making a threat. Then she disappeared into Soléne's bedroom to leave the note behind.

Soléne seethed with rage as she clasped the edge of her desk. Duke's wench had been within her grasp this whole time! _Let's see how well she bears my wrath when I force her to watch Duke's heart being carved out of his chest …before she suffers every agonizing pain I can devise. _

As the minutes passed and her thoughts burned with plans for revenge, Soléne finally grew impatient and charged out into the hall. She had to walk all of the way to the corridor by Duke's quarters to find Jax standing outside, shouting at lower-ranking members of the Brotherhood.

"Jax! Where are they?!" Soléne demanded.

He shoved one of the ducks aside as he faced her reluctantly.

"They're not here, boss. But we'll find them. Duke couldn't have gone near the exit without being seen."

Soléne grew quiet as her anger was unseated by doubts.

"Double the guard on the exit," she commanded suddenly. "Check the video from every camera! And send these incompetent fools to scour every inch of the Brotherhood. I want them found!"

* * *

Far above the disarray unfolding below, Raven and Duke continued to climb through the pipes. But as the light from her bracelet shone ahead, Raven saw that they were coming to a section that split off to the side, while the pipes above them ended in rubble. As she stared up at the rubble above them, Raven felt dismay weaken her spirit. Reaching up to take hold of the next rung in the pipe, she felt the pain in her arm increase, and she slid back down to a lower rung, still grasped by her other hand, with a muffled cry.

Duke climbed down as far as he could, watching her.

"Hey, don't quit now, rookie. We're almost there."

Raven looked up at him in surprise.

"But the pipe above us is blocked…"

"No, we're goin' this way," Duke said, directing her attention to the pipe branching off to the left in a horizontal position. "Looks like you need a break though. Can you make it a little higher? And then we can give that arm a rest?"

Raven nodded as she began to climb again. There was pain with each movement of her wounded arm, and now her other arm ached from the extra strain of having to do more of the work. But she wouldn't stop.

Duke reached the horizontal pipe, but he entered it backwards, so that as she drew closer, he could help her inside. Soon, they were both inside, and Raven leaned against the cool metal, breathing heavily.

Grabbing the small pack that she had brought with them, Duke began to search through it.

"Did ya put any medical supplies in here?" he asked.

"No, I forgot to grab that from the bathroom. But it's fine. I just need to rest."

Duke took the pack and shouldered it, so she wouldn't be carrying the extra weight. Then he raised the light at her wrist and saw that the bandage on her arm was dark with blood.

"You're gonna need new stitches, sweetheart."

"There'll be time after we get out," Raven said. "You said we were close?"

Duke started to move further along the pipe.

"Yeah, I'm gonna check the part ahead, okay?"

Raven nodded and focused on catching her breath while she listened to Duke making his way through the pipe. In a little while, she heard him coming back.

"Good news, sweetheart. There's this horizontal section, and then a short bit that goes up to the surface. We're really close."

"Can we get out at the top?"

"I might need to use my saber, but yeah, we'll get out."

Raven smiled wearily.

"Is there any chance someone will be waiting for us on the other side?"

"Maybe," Duke sighed. "I doubt Soléne knows about this, but if someone realized we left a hologram behind…"

Raven held up her glowing bracelet.

"When we get near the top, reach down and take this from me. It has a heat sensor on it. It'll tell us whether someone is waiting just on the other side or not."

Duke shot her another look of surprise.

"Where did you get all of these gadgets from?"

Raven shook her head.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. But come on, I'm ready to go."

Although her arm still pained her, Duke was right about the remaining passage being short. The horizontal pipe was easier for Gwen to climb through without using her hurt arm, and when they had to climb up into a vertical one again, Duke helped her as much as he could.

At last, Duke climbed up as high as he could without hitting his head on a circular disc covering the top of the pipe. And Raven waited below him as he activated his saber and burned a hole through the disc, which seemed to be sealed over the pipe. Once the smaller hole was finished, Raven held up her wrist, and Duke took the bracelet from her. Raven directed him on how to use it, and Duke activated the heat scan. It came back clear.

Handing the bracelet back to her, Duke used his saber again to cut around the edge of the disc. Once it was loose, he pushed against it, and star light streamed into the dark pipe from the clear sky above. Raven clasped the rungs in front of her more tightly. Seeing real light again sent such relief coursing through her.

Duke quickly climbed out and then helped her up. As he drew her out onto the pavement and they stood in an alley beneath the stars, their gazes met, and Duke clasped her more tightly.

"I didn't think this could happen," he said. "So no matter what goes wrong from here, thanks, Raven."

His words brought to her mind that they weren't safe yet, and Raven held tightly to him.

"There's a place I want to go. Will you come with me?"

Duke nodded, but he looked at her arm.

"I'll let you tend to it soon," she promised. "But not here. We're too close to the Brotherhood still."

* * *

Though Duke asked where they were going, Raven wouldn't fully answer his questions. Nor would she let him tend to her arm.

"There will be time for that later. But first, I want to show you something," she urged.

Duke cast a questioning gaze at her face.

"You trust me, don't you, Duke?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I don't get why you won't tell me where we're goin."

She smiled.

"It's a good surprise. I promise, and we need to go someplace where Soléne won't be looking for us."

"That's true," Duke admitted. "You realize that even though we got out, no one can track down and take out their enemies like the Brotherhood, right?"

She nodded.

"But just like it wasn't impossible for us to get out, it's not impossible for us to be free," Raven insisted, and standing up, she led Duke around the corner of another building.

As she directed his attention ahead, Duke suddenly halted and stared.

"That's where I want to go," Raven said, looking at the abandoned ice rink ahead of them in a run-down part of Bladeston.

And a sudden memory from his distant past awoke in Duke's mind.

_Gwendolyn felt the warmth of his arms around her against the cool air of the rink, and she noticed that the gentle, yet firm embrace seemed to be drawing her ever closer. _

"_How did you find this place?" she asked, directing his attention to the rink around them._

_Duke glanced up and around for a brief moment. _

"_When you spend a lot of your life alone, you start to find lonely places. I learned that when they opened some nicer rinks in Bladeston, this place was forgotten. But thankfully, they haven't torn it down. This was the only place I could come to find some peace when things were tough. …Ya know, I think you're the first one I've shared this place with."_

Duke appeared frozen as he stared at the old building in confusion, but when he turned to Raven, he seemed to be searching for answers.

"Why would you bring me here?"

"Do you know this place?" she asked, making sure he remembered it.

Duke nodded, still seeming at a loss for how she could know about it.

"Come on," Raven urged. "I'll tell you more inside."

Although Duke appeared wary of her secrecy, he still followed her. The roof of the building had been damaged, and it was in far worse shape than it had been a decade ago. The rink no longer contained safe ice to skate on, but once inside Duke still looked around at it as if he was seeing a ghost.

Raven sat down in one of the old seats, and while Duke appeared distracted, she reached under it and activated a tracking device. But once that was done, she sat back and focused on resting her arm.

Duke walked on down the steps towards the ruined ice and the debris around him.

"Do you know why this place looks so bad?" Raven asked.

Duke glanced up at the ceiling and the holes in it. It almost looked like something had blasted through the roof.

"There are still parts of Bladeston that look like a war zone," Raven continued.

"Somethin' happen while I was in Renhurst?" Duke asked.

Raven stood up and walked down to him.

"I'll answer any question you want," she offered. "But first, I think I'm ready to have you take a look at my arm."

Duke nodded and motioned for her to sit, but Raven shook her head. She started to draw off the bloodied bandage, and Duke helped her. Then he grabbed a spare cloth from the pack and cleaned the blood from her arm. But suddenly, he stopped. Around the wound, Raven's feathers were white…not brown.

"The antiseptic did eventually take the stain out," Raven said with a smile. "It just took time. And with a little more time, the rest of my disguise will start to fade too."

Duke held her arm in his hand as he turned his focus to her face.

"Gwen?"

She smiled and nodded. He raised his other hand to her black hair as he continued to study her …trying to reconcile her different appearance. But as he looked at her eyes again, he held her close.

Gwen clung tightly to him and only drew back enough to kiss him, which Duke responded to with fervent longing. But then he stepped back, needing to take a look at her again.

"Why did you come back to me? Your letter…"

"Was only written because Quinn Jarrow threatened your life if I did not leave you," she said, still holding onto him. "I thought I was saving your life by leaving."

"Jarrow?" Duke asked angrily. "He spoke to you?"

"Yes, but we don't need to talk about it now. I'm sorry I was not there for you sooner. I would have come if I'd known you still wanted me."

"Of course I still wanted you," Duke insisted. "How could you think that I didn't?"

"I know how cruel my letter was. I thought you might not have forgiven me. After all, you gave me my freedom, and then I left you."

"I never stopped thinking of you," Duke insisted, and then he noticed the wound on her arm had started to bleed again. Finding a new cloth, he quickly bound it once more. But his expression darkened.

"So this whole time!… Great Mother of Ducks, you were down in the Brotherhood! Gwen, you could have been killed!"

She listened quietly, not seeming surprised by his response.

"I had to try to get you out."

"And you never thought to tell me who you were?"

"I did think about it, but I knew you would respond like this."

Duke sighed, but some of his anger seemed to fade. Gwen drew closer to him again.

"Raven was my best shot at getting us both out. I wanted you to treat me like I was an ally …and not a victim."

He was still quiet for a few moments, taking it all in and reconsidering Gwen as Raven.

"You were a good apprentice," Duke admitted. "But I didn't understand why I was falling in love with you."

"Considering you thought Gwendolyn Fairfeather was never coming back …and that Raven was actually me… I forgive you," she said, teasingly.

Duke drew her into an embrace.

"You forgive me? You're the one who's tryin' to give me a heart attack here. No more secrets, okay?"

He kissed her again, but Gwen was distracted as her thoughts returned to the tracking device that she had activated.

"Duke," she said drawing back. "There are some other things we need to talk about."

But he continued to seem distracted by his affection for her.

"Unless it's about fixin' up your arm or finding a bed for the night, I'm not interested."

Gwen pushed him back a little.

"It is about a place to stay for the night. And yes, getting better treatment for my arm, but more importantly, it's about what you don't remember."

Duke grew quiet as he watched her.

"What don't I remember? The last time we saw each other was at your aunt's house, wasn't it?"

Gwen shook her head as she tried to find the right words, but Duke quickly asked,

"Did you come to see me at Renhurst?"

She clasped his hand and held it tightly.

"Duke, you were never there. Soléne lied to you."

He appeared confused and surprised, but then his gaze was directed to the steps leading up out of the rink. Gwen turned around and saw five figures enter through the doors.

Nosedive called out Duke's name excitedly, but Duke pushed Gwen behind him and drew his saber. In the same moment, Wildwing grabbed Nosedive by the shoulder and stopped him from continuing down the steps.

"Duke, stop. I called them here," Gwen said, putting her hand on his arm.

"Called them? These are the ducks who tried to lock me up," Duke said, without turning towards her.

"They were only trying to help you get your memory back. They're _your_ friends, Duke."

He lowered his saber slightly as he glanced back at her. But when he looked up at the strangers on the steps, nothing about them seemed familiar.

"What about those stories they told me?" he asked suspiciously. "I got tales about a Saurian invasion and another planet the last time I tried to talk to them."

"Look around you. That's one of the reasons I brought you here," Gwen said. "Puckworld did go through a Saurian invasion."

He glanced up at the ceiling again, but the idea that the Saurians had come back was a lot to take in.

"Duke, trust me," Gwen pleaded. "These past weeks, you've felt so alone in the Brotherhood, but that was only because Soléne cut you off from the life you've had these last few years. You don't belong down there anymore. You belong with _us_."

Duke looked from her to the five ducks on the stairs. One of them, a drake with white feathers, took another slow step closer.

"I'm Wildwing," he said. "And I've been waiting for the opportunity to repay the trust you once placed in me. Will you let us help?"

Duke deactivated his saber as he turned to Gwen.

"So you really want us to go with them?"

She smiled and gave him a reassuring nod.

"Her arm needs medical attention," Duke said, turning back to Wildwing. "I guess I'll go with you if you give her that."

Wildwing nodded and smiled as he motioned to Tanya. Duke watched a blonde-haired duck with glasses approach, and she shot him a friendly smile as if she knew him …and was happy to see him.

Gwen unbound the cloth from her arm, and Tanya cleaned it and wrapped it up again.

"Why is it one of you always has an injured arm when we meet?" Tanya chided. "There's more I can do for this when we're back at our base."

"Did you find a location?" Gwen asked.

"Yes, the Brotherhood won't be able to track us there," Tanya assured her.

Gwen was ready to follow Tanya, but Duke still hesitated. Turning back to him, Gwen took his hand again and tried to chase away his doubts with her smile.

"I know you don't understand, but we made it out of the Brotherhood. And we'll need their help to stay out of Soléne's grasp."

Duke appeared uncertain, but he followed Gwen and the other ducks.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this scene where the truth finally starts to come out! I'd appreciate any reviews you could leave. The feedback means a lot. **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

An Unfamiliar Past

Outside of Bladeston, Mallory had located an underground military base, which the resistance had used briefly during the Saurian invasion. With the Saurians gone, it had been abandoned, and although it had seen better days, it was still secure.

In the weeks while Gwen was busy with her mission of infiltrating the Brotherhood, the Mighty Ducks had traveled in secret to this base. Tanya had reestablished security measures like cameras, motion detectors, and made sure all of the doors could be properly sealed and locked. Mallory assisted where she could, but she and Wildwing were often busy acquiring weapons.

Wildwing understood that a fight was coming if Gwen managed to get Duke out of the Brotherhood, and he wanted his team to be ready for it. Grin and Nosedive had been tasked with getting supplies in case they needed to remain in seclusion for a time.

At other times, Wildwing brought Nosedive with him to public places to act like they were still living a normal life. He even let Nosedive host a party at their apartment, much to the annoyance of some of their neighbors, to make sure it was public knowledge they lived in that small apartment. If the Brotherhood came looking, they wanted to send them to the wrong address. Mallory and Tanya tried to enact the same pretense with their own apartments, hosting old friends and pretending to have their own lives. Grin mostly just kept to himself, but the opposite from him would have only spurred questions.

Now as they took Gwen and Duke to the base, Wildwing was ready to put the whole thing on lockdown until Duke was better prepared for the fight ahead of them. And once they were inside, he had Tanya activate the security measures and seal the doors.

Duke seemed uneasy as he watched the doors close, but Gwen put her hand on his arm and gave him an encouraging smile.

"It's only to keep unwanted visitors out," Wildwing said to Duke. "These doors can be easily opened from the inside."

"I just got outta one underground prison," Duke said uneasily. "So forgive me if ending up in another one doesn't comfort me."

"You wouldn't have ended up in that prison if you had just stayed with us the first time," Mallory said in her usual manner of giving Duke a hard time.

But Gwen saw that because he didn't remember her, he didn't brush off the remark or try to banter back with her. Instead, her accusation only made him angry.

"I wish I had been there when they found you," Gwen said. "It seems that only bad things happen when I leave your side."

Duke grew calm again, and Tanya walked up to them slowly, treating things a bit more cautiously than Mallory had.

"If you'll come with me, I'll show you the infirmary, and we'll fix your arm up, Gwen."

Duke took Gwen's hand, indicating that he had no plans to be separated from her, and they followed Tanya.

"I see, uh, that the stain worked out well," Tanya noted, glancing back at Gwen. "You just lost a little bit of it near that wound."

"Yes, some antiseptic took it off, but other than that it was great. Thanks, Tanya."

"You added the stain to her feathers?" Duke asked.

"Yeah," Tanya said, but then seeing that he seemed a little displeased, she added, "But it comes off. I've already mixed up a solution for removing it. Just add it to a bath and soak for ten minutes. Your hair might take a few days though. I've put some special hair color remover in your bathroom."

"Thank you, Tanya. It's been a while since I've looked like myself," Gwen said.

When they reached the infirmary, Tanya put new stitches in Gwen's wound, and using some of the solution she had mentioned earlier, she removed some of the stain from the feathers on that arm and hand.

"I'm going to wrap this wound up, and after that I don't want you to get it wet tonight, got it?" Tanya said.

Gwen nodded and smiled. Duke stared at her arm, now showing her natural white feathers, as compared to the stained feathers on her opposite arm.

"Duke, you wouldn't let me do a quick scan while you're here, would you?" Tanya asked.

"A what?" he asked, turning his attention to her.

"A scan," Gwen repeated. "Tanya's still trying to work out how to counteract your memory loss."

Duke surveyed the machines in the infirmary warily, but he relented.

"If ya must."

Tanya smiled and directed him to a bed.

"You don't have to do anything but lie still," she said encouragingly. "And close your eyes… well, uh, eye."

Duke lay down and obeyed as Tanya activated a beam that scanned him from head to foot. But as per Tanya's directions, it took the longest amount of time scanning his head. When it was finished, the beam shut off, and Duke rose from the bed quickly.

"Have you learned anything else helpful about the ZYT901?" Gwen asked.

On the way to the base, Gwen had explained to Duke that Soléne had used this drug to erase his memories, and she told him what Tanya had explained about why the drug was initially created.

"I've only heard rumors of other ZYT901 victims," Tanya said. "Some are saying that the effects aren't permanent. Duke might get his memory back on his own, but I have no idea how long it might be until that happens."

Tanya stepped away from her scans to speak to them again.

"We thought you two might be tired and want some time alone, so there's some food and drinks in a small fridge in your room. I can show you where it is if you want."

Gwen could tell that Duke was eager for a little privacy, so she nodded and thanked Tanya.

* * *

Their room in the base ended up being one large bedroom with a bathroom attached to it. Gwen was surprised to see that a military base had a bathroom with both a tub and a shower in it, but she was grateful for the chance to wash off the rest of the stain on her feathers. Tanya showed them where the fridge was, and then she quickly left them to settle in.

Duke looked at the bed and then turned to Gwen.

"You don't have a problem with this, do ya, sweetheart?"

Gwen smiled.

"Duke, we've slept together many times. You just don't remember."

He appeared surprised.

"That doesn't seem like something I would forget."

Gwen was about to answer him when she saw a note from Wildwing beside a small case on a side table. The note read, _Happy to return this to you_. And when she opened the case, she saw her wedding ring, which she had given to Wildwing for safekeeping.

"Well, there's a lot you've forgotten," Gwen said turning back to Duke and drawing out his ring, which she had stolen from Soléne's office. "We're also married."

* * *

About an hour and several questions later, Duke was still coming to terms with the idea that he was married to someone he had never expected to see again. Gwen decided she wanted to look more like herself, so she began taking the bath Tanya had suggested. She was careful to keep her injured arm out of the water, and Duke came in to help clean off her face.

Once she had dried her feathers, Gwen studied her appearance in the mirror. Her feathers were white again, but her hair was still dark.

"I'm startin' to wonder how I didn't realize it was you sooner," Duke said as he admired her from the doorway.

Gwen shot him a look, but she smiled all the same. And after slipping into a nightdress, she followed Duke out to the main room to eat some of the food left for them. Duke took some packages out of the fridge and brought it over to the bed, motioning for her to join him.

"Does it bother you to find out we're married?" Gwen asked as she sat down on the edge and held out their wedding rings for him to inspect.

Duke grew quiet as he looked at both of them.

"The only thing that bothers me about it is that I don't remember any of it." He lifted up his ring to the light and looked at it. "Soléne had no business taking this …or my memories from me."

He slid the ring onto his finger before taking her ring and putting it on her finger. After that, he clasped her hand and drew it to his beak to kiss it. Gwen felt her face grow warm before she finally drew her hand back, so she could eat.

"You also said I was close with these ducks we're staying with. But I don't remember them either."

"You will remember them. Just give it time," Gwen promised.

Duke forced a smile as he opened his food.

"Maybe it would help if you'd tell me about them."

Gwen swallowed the bite she had been chewing as she considered how odd it felt to be introducing Duke to his own teammates.

"Okay, well, don't let Mallory ruffle your feathers with her quips. She gives everyone a hard time, but she expects the same in return. She's tough, and she taught me a few things that were helpful down in the Brotherhood."

"Did she teach you to throw yourself into harm's way at every opportunity that presented itself? 'Cause that's what I saw."

Gwen tossed a few crumbs at him.

"Those were my decisions. Don't blame Mallory for that."

Duke smiled and brushed the crumbs from his shirt.

"'Kay, what about the others?"

"Grin is quiet, but he's very insightful. He notices things that others miss. Tanya is great with technology, and this team is really important to her. There's nothing she wouldn't do to help one of her friends."

"I wasn't too thrilled with her machines the last time I saw her," Duke said. "I thought she was tryin' to turn me into some kinda science experiment."

"You probably just saw her eagerness to help and mistook it for something else," Gwen said.

"And what about the kid who's always runnin' his beak?" Duke asked.

"Nosedive," Gwen corrected with a laugh. "Don't be too hard on him, Duke. He's Wildwing's younger brother. He's reckless, but sweet. And Wildwing is the leader, and he also really cares about the team. On Earth, I sometimes felt like you had even taken Nosedive and Wildwing under your wing as if they were your brothers too."

"That's another thing. On the way over here, you were tryin' to explain this whole other planet to me. I can't picture this Earth." Duke paused as he thought about what he had heard them say. "It sounded beautiful though."

"It was certainly greener than Puckworld," Gwen assured him. "And when we were finally both away from our past lives on Puckworld, it allowed us to come together." Gwen lifted up her hand with her wedding ring. "These rings came from Earth. And it seems fitting, since while we were there if felt like we had everything we wanted."

Duke set his food aside and drew closer to her.

"Maybe you could help me get a sense of how great it was there."

Gwen smiled as she moved to his side.

"If it will help you feel more at home here, I'll see what I can do."

Duke waited until she was right next to him before he wrapped his arms around her and began to kiss her neck. She returned his embrace and nestled her beak against the side of his face. Longing soon gave way to passionate intimacy, and hours passed before either one of them could fall asleep.

* * *

When Gwen awoke, it took her a moment to remember where she was, but when she saw Duke in the bed beside her, she smiled and nestled closer to him. He opened his eyes and responded with a satisfied hum as he rolled towards her and placed his hand on her back, rubbing it gently.

"Is it morning?" Gwen asked.

"Who cares if it is?"

She smiled.

"Duke, we have to get up at some point."

But he embraced her and held her closer.

"Were the nights after our wedding anything like last night?" he asked.

She nodded and kissed him.

"I shoulda insisted that you share a bed with me in the Brotherhood," Duke said before he kissed her back.

"But you didn't know who I was," Gwen reminded him. "So you did the right thing."

"Sweetheart, all those nights I was miserable, and I coulda had you like this? No, that was far from right."

"Duke, it wouldn't have been like this," Gwen said with a gentle laugh. "I could only tell you the whole truth outside the Brotherhood. And here, we also have nights away from all of the threats that Madame de Fyre could throw at us. We needed this safety."

He grudgingly acknowledged her point, but he wouldn't let her up just yet.

"Tonight then… let's enjoy that safety again," Duke said with the tone of a request.

Gwen responded by kissing him, and Duke started to return the affection when there was a pounding on the door. Duke sat up, seeming startled by the noise, and Gwen heard Nosedive's voice shout,

"Are you two awake yet?"

She smiled and answered, "Yes, we'll be out soon."

Nosedive seemed to move on, but Duke looked annoyed. Gwen sat up and seized a clock from the table.

"Duke, it's almost noon. Come on, we have to go out and talk with them."

He sighed and appeared reluctant, but she playfully tossed a pillow at him and he climbed out of bed with at least a half-hearted smile.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: This chapter contains some quotes from the tv series owned by Disney. I do not own the characters or the lines from the Mighty Ducks animated series. **

Chapter 10

Strange Remembrances

Once they learned that Gwen and Duke were awake, the other ducks gathered in the galley to share lunch with them. Wildwing offered Duke and Gwen seats at a long table as the other ducks set food and drinks upon it.

"You know we're eager to hear what happened in the Brotherhood," Mallory said as she stood by Gwen.

"Later," Wildwing said, cutting her off. "Right now the only thing we need to know is who you expect to come after you. We only got a few hints on the drive over here yesterday."

"Soléne will not stop looking for us," Duke assured him. "Are ya sure this place is a secret?"

"We were very careful," Tanya said, as she took her seat. "We guessed that the Brotherhood would start by looking for us. But they won't find anything at our apartments to lead them here."

"Dude, and the cameras haven't picked up anyone snooping around our new place," Nosedive added.

"Hopefully that means we have a little time to spare," Gwen said. "But Duke is right. Soléne will use all of her resources to hunt for us."

"Then we'll work on being prepared for a fight when the time comes," Wildwing said. "But today I thought it was important that we focus on something else."

He looked to Tanya, and she nodded.

"Well, we thought that even if Duke can't remember us, we still wanted him to feel like a part of this team. Wildwing suggested that we all share something we remember from Earth … something that would help you," she said looking at Duke. "…realize that you were an important team member to us."

Duke appeared surprised, but Gwen smiled.

"What a good idea."

Nosedive shrugged.

"Wing said we had to."

Wildwing smacked his brother's shoulder, and then said to Tanya,

"You should go first."

"Okay, uh, well, there was this time that Dragaunus unleashed dinosaurs on Anaheim, um, that's the city where we lived and played hockey on Earth."

"Dinosaurs?" Duke repeated.

"Yeah, and being chased by giant lizards is one of my biggest fears, okay?" Tanya continued. "I even froze up at one point, and you and Grin were nearly crushed in the Migrator because I didn't warn you in time."

Tanya's expression was troubled by a look of guilt as she turned from Grin back to Duke.

"But it was you, Grin, and Wildwing who helped me get over my fears."

"You found your courage in time to save us," Grin said encouragingly to her.

Tanya appeared shy about receiving the praise, but she continued.

"Anyway, I've never forgotten what you said to me after it was over," she said looking at Duke. "You said, 'Tanya, never question your courage again. We owe you our lives.' And even though we haven't faced anymore dinosaurs recently, that's helped me at other times when I wanted to give up."

Duke listened in silence, not seeming sure how to respond.

"Well, I'll go next if it will get this over with," Mallory said after clearing her throat. "So you might have guessed that we haven't always gotten along."

Duke let out a bit of a laugh and nodded, and Mallory smiled as she kept going.

"As a member of Puckworld's Special Forces, I wasn't thrilled when I was stuck on a resistance team with our planet's most notorious jewel thief. So yeah, it took a while before I was willing to trust you."

"A while? Try a whole season's worth," Nosedive said with a wink.

Mallory ignored him and continued.

"It didn't help when Dragaunus brought Falcone to Earth to steal some stuff for him."

"Falcone?" Duke repeated. "What happened to the oily coward? I kept expectin' to see him lurking in a hall in the Brotherhood."

"No, he's still in prison on Earth," Mallory answered. "But when he first showed up, you wanted to go and deal with him on your own. And I felt certain you were going to betray us and take up stealing again. But I was wrong. You found out what Dragaunus was up to and helped us stop his plan."

"And once Dragaunus thought he didn't need Falcone anymore, he pitched him out of a ship. But you even swung out and caught Falcone, saving his life after he left you to die," Wildwing added.

Gwen put her hand on Duke's arm and shot him an admiring smile. Duke returned her smile, but he still seemed to be trying to take it all in.

"He was my friend… or at least that's how I saw it, a long time ago," Duke finally said. "But it didn't take long before I started to lose my respect for him."

"Well, when it was all over, I had to admit that I'd been wrong about you," Mallory said. "And you were gracious enough not to hold it against me. So, I guess you were a good teammate after all."

"Except for the part about leaving me and Tanya locked in a room where we almost ran out of air," Nosedive interjected, and the other ducks shot him a look. "What, it's true!"

"He didn't know we were in trouble," Tanya protested. "And the rest of our teammates got us out."

"Uh, sorry," Duke apologized. "I'm used to working alone."

"That's why I said you were a good teammate, but maybe not a perfect one," Mallory added with a smile.

"Okay, my turn!" Nosedive added. "So this other time, Dragaunus brought this other duck to Earth. Lucretia de…"

Wildwing snapped his brother's beak shut and held it closed.

"Not that story, Dive."

But Gwen laughed.

"I've already heard it Wildwing. But no, maybe it's not Duke's most flattering moment…or yours either Nosedive."

Wildwing released Nosedive's beak.

"You said you were going to tell the other story, remember?"

"Okay, take it easy, bro," Nosedive said, but he grinned mischievously.

"Wait, what's this other story?" Duke asked.

"You and Nosedive became quite competitive over a female spy that Dragaunus sent to infiltrate your team," Gwen explained.

"Yeah, she definitely liked me the best," Nosedive insisted.

Duke appeared skeptical, but he didn't say anything.

"Yes, she liked you so much, she tried to have you all killed," Gwen scoffed. "Now what's this story you're supposed to tell?"

"Fine," Nosedive groaned. "So a couple of times we ended up in a version of Anaheim that was in an alternate dimension. And magic was like real in this Anaheim. We fought all of these cool monsters and an evil sorcerer named Asteroth. And you like took him out twice, Dukester! It was pretty cool, man."

"Magic, huh?" Duke asked, sounding interested.

"Yeah, and there was this magical sword that you used to destroy the stuff that gave Asteroth his power. It's like too bad we don't have it here with us now."

"Dinosaurs, magic… it sounds like we had some strange adventures," Duke said, trying to reconcile the stories.

"And there was the time we were taken to another planet to play hockey as prisoners," Grin said.

Wildwing nodded for him to continue, and Grin said,

"None of us were happy about being forced to play by unfair rules."

"Or about the threat of being blown up if we lost a game," Mallory added.

"Yeah, or that," Grin acknowledged in his usual tone. "But you were already angry about how humans played hockey on Earth. Many of them broke the rules and did not play with honor. So when we faced our enemies on the ice, you fought one of them who had been our captor. And you could have struck or killed him. But you did not let your anger get the better of you. You remembered your honor."

Duke listened intently, wishing he could remember this event.

"And later when our chance to escape that planet came, this Kazor who had once been our enemy helped us, because you spared him," Grin said. "And you also learned to accept those who wronged you on Earth. Truly, it was a great example of enlightenment and a noble hockey player."

Gwen smiled.

"Thank you, Grin. I had not heard that story before."

She turned to Duke, but she could see that he was still processing it.

"As a young duck, I let my own anger blind me to everything else," Grin admitted. "It was good to see Duke move past his own."

"Well, I guess that just leaves me," Wildwing said after a moment. "But to explain what you did for me, Duke, I have to tell you about someone else from our team. Someone you won't remember. Canard Thunderbeak was our original leader, and he was a close friend of mine."

Duke looked up as Wildwing drew out a golden mask and set it on the table.

"He found this mask, Drake Ducaine's mask, and assembled our team to overthrow Dragaunus' hold on our world. But when we chased Dragaunus through the dimensional portal, we lost Canard. Dragaunus unleashed something to destroy our ship, and Canard sacrificed himself to save all of us. It worked, and we made it to Earth, but we didn't have a leader anymore."

Duke leaned closer to the table and picked up the Mask carefully. Suddenly, he put his other hand to his head and closed his good eye.

* * *

"_Hey, if that thing gets big enough it could swallow the entire ship!" _

…

"_Canard, what are you doing?"_

"_You heard Tanya. I'm gonna close that thing down."_

"_Are you crazy?"_

"_It's the only way. …Take it, Wildwing. Take it!"_

…

"_Canard! Hang on!"_

"_Take it! You're team captain now."_

* * *

Duke set the Mask down suddenly as he looked back at Wildwing.

"A massive worm, I saw it take Canard," Duke said.

"You remember?" Wildwing asked eagerly and everyone else watched Duke's face.

"Bits and pieces," Duke said. "He made you team captain. I was right there at the door, but there was nothin' I could do to save him."

"It was his choice," Grin said solemnly. "None of us could have changed what happened."

They sat in silence for a moment, but then Wildwing continued.

"I never wanted to be the team leader. And I kept hoping we'd find a way to rescue Canard. But you kept telling me I needed to put on the Mask and take over as leader. You believed in me, even though we disagreed at times."

"What did we disagree on?" Duke asked.

"Well, when we first landed on Earth, all I could think about was defeating Dragaunus, but you wanted to fight crime in Anaheim. There wasn't one bank robbery or gang threat that you didn't care about. It didn't matter that we weren't even on our own planet anymore," Wildwing said with a smile. "And even though you were older than I was, you insisted that I should be the leader. You never tried to claim the Mask for yourself."

"Well, except for that one time with the giant monster plant," Nosedive said. "But when Wing gave up the Mask, I guess we all tried it on for size."

"Duke's time as leader lasted all of ten minutes before the plant seized him," Mallory scoffed.

"Girlie-girl, yours was even less!" Nosedive laughed.

"_Anyway_, the point is, you were right about Wildwing being the one to lead us," Tanya said, turning back to Duke. "Do you remember anything else?"

"Not at the moment," Duke said. "But I got flashes of all of us in a ship together. Except that Gwen wasn't there."

Gwen put her hand on his.

"I told you, I came later. You had already been fighting Dragaunus for over a year with your friends when I arrived."

"Right. Uh, guess the timeline is still a little unclear," Duke said.

Tanya stood up as an idea occurred to her.

"I could make a chart for you!"

And before anyone could suggest that such an action wasn't necessary, Tanya had left the room to begin compiling notes.

Duke cast a look at Gwen, but she just shrugged.

"Well, uh, thanks. I guess this did help me remember some things," Duke said as he looked at the other ducks.

"Well, you sound really uncomfortable here," Mallory noted. "Guess we're still just strangers to you?"

Wildwing shot her a look.

"Tanya said it would take time."

"Yeah, and how much time do we have until the Brotherhood finds us?" Mallory asked as she rose from the table and walked off.

It was quiet in the room for a moment after she left, and even Nosedive seemed a little uneasy with the stillness. He stood up and followed her, though he tried to shoot Duke a half smile.

"I'm not doin' so well here, it seems," Duke sighed. "Sorry, I can't make the memories come back faster."

Wildwing shook his head.

"They got their hopes up when Gwen activated the tracking device that we left at the ice rink. They thought things would go back to normal."

"You lost your memory, but we lost a friend," Grin added.

As she sat considering how best to help Duke, Gwen decided that sitting here was not doing enough.

"Wildwing, if it's all right, we'll take a walk through the inside of the base," Gwen suggested as Duke stood up beside her.

"Sure," he sighed. "Let me know if you want a tour or have any questions."

* * *

Duke remained quiet on their walk around the interior of the base, and when it was time to eat dinner, they again shared a meal with their teammates. But it was still awkward, and Duke seemed unsettled by what he couldn't remember.

Tanya tried showing him the chronological chart she had put together of some of their adventures on Earth with Gwen's arrival falling near the end of it. Duke read it and asked a few questions, but Gwen noticed that he only seemed more bothered by what he couldn't remember.

After dinner, they walked back to their room, and Gwen tried to think of what she could talk about that might ease his confusion …rather than increase it.

"I remember the first time you led me around the Pond on Earth," she finally said, holding his hand. "It was underground like this base."

"Did it look anything like this?" Duke asked as he surveyed the dim hallways.

Gwen shook her head.

"No, it was much brighter. And there was more space."

They walked on without saying much until Gwen added,

"It sort of reminded me of the basement we saw during the Ninoro's party, except with less gaudy décor and with more levels."

"Yeah, I remember that one. Your aunt tried to get me to eat that blue mush… what was that stuff again?"

Duke sounded a bit more like himself talking about things he did remember, and Gwen smiled.

"I just remember that she called it a Helf's delicacy, but I'm pretty sure it's the worst thing I've ever eaten."

"Yeah, I told you _not_ to take a bite," Duke scoffed. "I've never seen anythin' natural that color blue."

Gwen laughed, and Duke drew his hand out of her grasp, so he could put his arm around her.

"I guess you probably already told me what you were doin' all those years we were apart.'

"I'll tell you again if you want," Gwen offered, leaning into him. "But it's not very exciting. Mostly I worked small jobs like the one I had at a shipping business in Rimville."

"You went that far from Bladeston? I mean, that's out in the middle of nowhere."

Gwen smiled.

"That was the idea. I could keep a low profile there, and no one would recognize me."

But her smile faded as they walked on.

"Duke, I know I asked you about this a little in the Brotherhood as Raven, but do you remember how you met Soléne? Or what happened between you?"

"What makes you so sure we share history?"

They reached their room, and Duke led her back inside.

"I, um, was outside the training room that one morning when Soléne was waiting for you," Gwen explained.

Duke's grim expression showed that he remembered the scene as well.

"Sorry, you had to hear that."

"I'm not. …Well, not sorry to have heard what you said anyway," she assured him.

Duke rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

"I honestly don't remember Soléne from my past, but I think I'm missin' some memories from my time leading the Brotherhood just before the Saurians attacked. It could be that we met during those months."

"But your instincts told you not to trust her."

"Yeah, I felt that on the first day I was back in the Brotherhood. But I'd rather not think about that now. Could we talk more about the things we both remember …ya know, from before?"

Gwen nodded. She could sense his desire for something more comforting after dealing with so much unfamiliarity and confusion during the day.

"Yes, and later we can share another night together like the one before."

But he had already taken her hand and started to draw her towards the bed.

"We don't have to wait for later," he said.

Gwen smiled and followed him.

* * *

Hours later, Duke stirred in the bed that night while Gwen lay sleeping beside him. Voices from jumbled memories called out to him, and sometimes he even heard his own voice, but it sounded strange and distant.

"_Serves you right, what goes around, comes around!"_

_Kazor fell before his blows, but he lifted his face to plead for his life. "Please, mercy…"_

_The vision of Kazor's broken expression faded, and Mallory's voice said, _

"_The last person who should be handling jewels is a former thief."_

_The sting of her distrust echoed in his thoughts, and he heard Falcone call out, _

"_You won't stop me from being the best this time, Duke!"_

Duke groaned in his sleep and shifted under the sheets as the ticking of an enormous clock unsettled his dream.

_The pieces of the clock began to fall around Duke, threatening to crush him._

"_Finish him, finish him!" urged Emperor Charg. "If he fails to score, he will perish!"_

_Borg's tenor voice cut through the mist._

"_Now sorcerer, you have no power! Begone!" _

"_You have won this time… but you've not heard the last of Asteroth." _

As fire and smoke filled his dream, Duke writhed and began to sweat in his sleep.

_The red glow of the fire diminished, and the glowing eyes of a Saurian overlord stared down at him. He heard a deep, disturbing laugh echo around him. _

_But the vision changed and then Duke was faced with the Mask of Drake DuCaine floating in the air, and he heard himself say,_

"_Wildwing, it's time you put that Mask on, and started acting like a leader, all right?"_

"_I'm just keeping it until we find Canard."_

"_He gave you the Mask for a reason. He wanted you to lead us!"_

_But the vision of Wildwing and the Mask was swept away, and Duke saw Kazor, preparing to throw him up against the boards._

"_I won't forget this." _

At the sensation of being thrown with great force against the boards, Duke suddenly sat up with his good eye staring wide into the darkness. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he couldn't seem to catch his breath.

Gwen stirred beside him and awoke to see him sitting up with his head in his hands.

"Duke, what's wrong?"

"My dreams…they were flashes of memories, I think."

Gwen sat up and drew him closer to her. Putting his arms around her, Duke embraced her as he took some deep breaths.

"This must be so strange for you," she said.

He sighed and sat back.

"It was kinda intense. But I guess it's a good sign… the memories coming back, I mean."

She brushed his hair back from where it had started to droop over his face.

"I wish I could help you make sense of it all. But I am certain you will be glad to have these memories back when they become clearer."

Duke clasped her hand and felt the wedding ring on her finger.

"Yeah, I think if the dreams had been about you, though, they would have felt more peaceful."

Gwen turned her gaze away from him as she remembered their early troubles in finding each other on Earth and Royce's threats.

"Maybe not some of them," she said regretfully. "But we can talk about it more tomorrow. Do you think you can go back to sleep?"

Duke shook his head.

"Think I'll take a walk instead. Or get somethin' to drink."

Gwen opened her beak as if to protest, but then she thought better of it and said nothing. He slipped from her hands and dressed before putting on some boots and heading for the door.

"Go back to sleep, Gwen," he said with a forced smile. "I'll be here when you wake up."

"I could come with you," she offered.

"No, it's okay, sweetheart. Get some rest."

He left her, hating to see her uneasy, and yet, Duke felt that he needed some time alone to deal with his jumbled thoughts. The hallways were dark, except for a few dim lights, and Duke wandered without knowing where he was headed.

Eventually, he came to an intersection, and a figure stepped out of a door in an adjoining corridor. He tensed for a moment, but then Duke saw Wildwing step into the light.

"Duke? Is everything all right?"

Duke relaxed.

"I had a dream…well, more memories, I guess. It's still not clear to me."

He was surprised that he felt so comfortable being honest with Wildwing about what was troubling him, but Duke realized that the dream had caused him to see Wildwing as a friend. At least, he seemed to remember having that impression.

"Tanya told me that you might not have a smooth recovery process. I'm sorry there's not an instant cure."

"It's not your fault," Duke sighed. "So what are you doin' up so late?"

"We've started shifts to watch the monitors. If anyone approaches the base, we need to know before they get close."

Duke appeared surprised. They really were serious about security.

"You could have told us…Gwen and me. We can take some shifts," Duke offered.

"Of course, if you want to," Wildwing said. "But we thought you needed rest and some time to recover from your escape. …But if you're not busy now, you can come and keep me company for a bit. I was starting to get tired, but then the motion detectors picked you up moving in the hall."

Duke hesitated. He wasn't sure if he was up for a midnight watch with one of these teammates he barely remembered.

"There's some drinks and snacks in here," Wildwing added.

"Okay, sure," Duke agreed as he thought, _Well, what else was I gonna do?_

He followed Wildwing back inside and noticed several screens showing images from cameras on the upper level and the property around the base. There were also several other computers with complex readings above control panels.

"Tanya musta been busy putting this together," Duke mused as Wildwing pulled out a canned drink, much like soda on Earth, and a bag of snacks, which he handed to Duke.

Duke opened the can as he sat down in one of the chairs, while Wildwing took a seat closer to the camera images.

"So I think I remember what these humans look like, but was there a big one that used to yell at us a lot to do stuff for him? It's almost like I hear his annoyin' voice sometimes."

Wildwing responded with a curt laugh.

"That would be Phil, our manager. We had to sign a contract with him to play hockey on Earth. He could be a pain sometimes, but as strange as it seems, I sort of miss him. He wasn't all bad."

Duke looked around at the monitors.

"I've been so out of it lately, I hadn't even thought about what it must be like for you all. I mean, you just got back to Puckworld, and now you're givin' up your lives to keep me and Gwen hidden."

Wildwing's expression grew solemn.

"I don't know about that."

Duke shot him a questioning gaze.

"When we met Gwen on Earth, she told us that Puckworld had changed. I don't know if I really thought about it much at the time, but since we've been back, it's been painfully obvious. I never thought I would say this, but Puckworld doesn't feel like my home anymore."

Duke stared at Wildwing in surprise, and then his expression became thoughtful.

"Didn't you have ducks here you wanted to see again?" Duke asked after a moment.

"Nosedive and I tried to reconnect. Some of those we cared for were killed when Dragaunus invaded, and the rest, well, they've moved on. I guess I've changed too, but it seems like the ducks I knew…and this whole planet became something totally different from what I knew."

Duke thought of the Brotherhood. So much had changed under Soléne's leadership from the way it was under him. It was impossible for him to belong there now.

"I think I know what you mean," Duke said quietly. "But maybe for different reasons. When Gwen found me in the Brotherhood, I was lost … an outsider even in the place where I grew up. I was just waitin' for them to kill me, honestly."

Wildwing's gaze seemed troubled.

"We were afraid we'd lose you. And I hated letting Gwen endanger herself, but she was the only one they wouldn't recognize… and the only one you would trust."

"Yeah, though she didn't even tell me who she was until after we were out," Duke scoffed.

Wildwing listened with interest.

"I wouldn't mind hearing how it happened."

Duke took another drink and then he nodded.

"Sure, might be good since I'm still tryin' to make sense of it myself."

* * *

**Thanks again to all those reading the story! We're getting closer to the end, but don't worry, there's still more chapters to come.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Waking up to the Past

Jax tossed another duck up against the wall as he shouted at the other members of the Brotherhood, while Soléne stood and looked on behind him.

"Don't tell me they can't be found! You fools weren't watching them close enough. Search our halls again! No one sleeps until we find the traitors!"

He dismissed them as Soléne observed the scene with a cold expression. Turning back to her, Jax shook his head. No trace had been found of Duke or the girl.

"They've escaped," Soléne announced calmly. "We would have found them by now otherwise."

"How?" Jax asked. "Not even Duke could have gotten past our security measures around the exit."

"Unless he used a different exit."

"No, everything else is sealed," Jax protested. "We made sure there was only one."

"No one still alive knew this place better than Duke. Perhaps all he needed was his saber to escape. And _she_ knew where to find that."

"Then we send scouts out to look for them above," Jax suggested.

"They'll have a day's head start. We've already lost precious time," Soléne said angrily.

As they started to leave the room, Myros found them and bowed nervously.

"Boss, I searched the eastern halls where they were last seen, and I found something you should see."

They quickly followed him to the ledge that overlooked the rubble of the basement. Myros kicked a loose stone, and it rolled off the ledge. But as it dropped through the air, there was a ripple of light before they saw an image of the ground below appear normal again.

Soléne motioned to Jax, and he climbed down to the lower level, passing through the hologram. He found a small device, a makeup case, projecting it on the ground, and he closed it, shutting down the hologram. Then Soléne saw the metal cut away and the exposed entrance to the pipes. Her hands gripped the twisted railing near the edge.

"The girl musta planted this," Jax noted with some surprise as he held the hologram projector.

"No doubt she had help," Soléne said angrily. "This suggests the aid of Duke's allies from the Resistance. Send scouts to find them! That's where Duke and his wench will be."

* * *

Gwen slept restlessly throughout the night, but when she awoke in the morning, Duke was lying beside her as he had promised he would be the night before. But he was awake and staring at the ceiling.

"How long have you been here?" she asked as she moved closer and put her hand on his chest.

"About an hour," Duke said, turning towards her and holding her close.

"I could go get some breakfast and bring it to you. Do you want to try and get some more sleep?"

"No," Duke said softly. "I'll try again tomorrow night."

Gwen sat up, but she leaned over and kissed him before rising from the bed. She went and took a quick shower before coming out to find him still in bed and awake, but he rose when she put on some clothes.

"Your hair looks a little lighter," he noted, glancing over at her.

Turning to a mirror, Gwen ran her fingers through her hair. The dye was starting to come out with the color-remover Tanya had provided, and since her hair had grown longer in the weeks, she'd been gone, she really was starting to look more like her usual self.

"Am I as you remember me?" she asked, returning to Duke.

He hesitated as he looked at her.

"You were a girl, Gwen,…barely of age, when I knew you. But you seem more grown up now… less like you need my help, I guess."

"Not long ago you thought I was a young rookie in the Brotherhood," Gwen reminded him. "Do I seem so much older now?"

Duke tried to suppress a smile.

"I didn't mean it like that. But in the Brotherhood, I thought you had no idea what you were doin'. That's what made you seem so young, apart from the disguise. But now I see that you knew more than I thought you did."

Gwen laughed softly.

"Maybe, but I wasn't sure if my crazy plans would work half the time."

Duke seemed troubled by her confession. He walked closer and drew her into his arms.

"I can't lose you again, Gwen. You're the only one in my life who seems to fit perfectly – no matter what situation I'm faced with."

She embraced him and held onto Duke as he returned her embrace.

"I'm not going anywhere, but you will find your place among your friends, Duke. I know you will remember."

As Gwen spoke, a sudden idea occurred to her, and she took a step back with a smile.

"Of course, why did I not think of that before?"

"What?" Duke asked with a confused expression.

"I think I know how to help you remember them. Come on!"

* * *

Gwen waited until they had found all of the other ducks before she explained her hopes.

"Wildwing, yesterday, you told me that this facility used to have a recreational sub-level. Is there a rink down there too?"

"An old one, and it's pretty small," Wildwing said.

"But we can still get to it?" Gwen pressed.

"Sure, but why?"

"Well, I was thinking that Duke needs to play hockey with the team."

Many of the other ducks appeared surprised by the idea, but Nosedive was quick to say what many of them were thinking.

"Dude, why didn't we try that sooner?"

"Hockey is always the answer," Grin agreed.

They looked at Duke, who seemed uncertain, but he nodded.

"We'll see what happens, I guess."

The rink below the main level was indeed too small for a regular hockey game, and there were only a few old hockey sticks and pucks available. But the ducks already had skates, so they intended to make the best with what they had. Gwen insisted on watching from the side.

"This is about you connecting with them," she told Duke. "So I should just watch from back here."

Wildwing took up his position as goalie, while the other ducks took up the roles that they usually assumed during practice sessions, and Duke was directed to his position.

Gwen watched as they began to run through some of their team drills. But Duke could not remember them, so there were several delays in giving him guidance.

Finally, Wildwing decided to simplify matters by putting them on teams with the single goal of trying to score against him. He put Nosedive and Tanya on one team and Mallory and Duke on the other. Grin agreed to sit out on the teams, and he would drop the puck at the beginning of each round.

As Nosedive faced off against Duke for the puck on the first round, he struck the ice with his stick.

"Hope you're still fast, Dukester!"

"Hey, nobody can steal a puck, like me, kid," Duke found himself saying with a smile, surprised at his own competitive rise to the young drake.

Grin dropped it, and Duke swung the puck over to Mallory, who took off with it. But Tanya was on her at once, and Duke skated up to give her someone to pass to. But Nosedive kept cutting into their path.

"Come on, L'Orange!" Mallory called.

Duke pushed off on his skates and managed to maneuver around Nosedive, and Mallory swept the puck to him. Duke swung back with his stick and fired off a shot at the goal and Wildwing. But Wildwing blocked the shot, and Nosedive, having skated around the back of the goal, quickly stole the puck and tried a shot of his own.

Wildwing blocked that one too, and then he knocked the puck back towards the other side of the ice. Duke engaged with Nosedive in another race for the puck, but as he skated, he suddenly realized that he was remembering how to anticipate the young duck's moves. Nosedive could be very fast and accurate with his swings, but he didn't always have the precision with his skating that Duke possessed.

And then as Duke watched his other teammates, he remembered that Tanya sometimes overthought her moves, and Mallory could be predictable about when she liked to try to take a shot and when she didn't. Finding his confidence in remembering their tendencies, Duke stole the puck from Nosedive again. Mallory helped him get it down the ice, and Duke suddenly recalled an angle that he had used to score successfully against Wildwing.

He lined it up and took the shot, and Wildwing failed to block it. And Duke turned and tapped his stick with Mallory's like they used to do after a goal in a game. But she seemed surprised by the action.

"Hey, I do remember," Duke realized with a smile.

"I'll say you do," Wildwing said with a grin, skating out from the goal. "You went from a being lost to knowing exactly how to play with us."

"You know us, Duke?" Nosedive asked.

"Yeah," Duke laughed. "I suddenly remembered you and that stupid Zamboni machine from that time we faced the crazy weather in Anaheim."

"Hey, that stupid Zamboni machine crushed Tiny, remember?" Nosedive protested, but he smiled.

"I do actually," Duke said, seeming relieved.

Gwen was tempted to skate out to them, but she held back as Grin joined the circle of ducks gathered around Duke. It seemed that his memories of hockey were quickly leading to other memories with his team. And they laughed as Duke recalled other humorous moments from their time on Earth.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Gwen smiled as she watched them. The team was finally back together, and Duke had found his friends again. But feeling suddenly out of place, she backed away and walked towards the stairs.

* * *

In the flood of memories that returned to him, Duke lost himself with his teammates for over an hour. He wondered how he could have forgotten them. It was like regaining a long-lost family …and a home he had been missing without realizing it.

But as things quieted down, he realized that Gwen had left the lower level. His teammates seemed to understand his uneasiness as they also saw that she was gone, and they let him go.

"Thanks guys. I just need a minute."

"We should get back to our security measures," Wildwing said. "But this break was good for us too. And Duke, it's good to have you back."

Duke nodded before he turned and hurried to find Gwen. After removing his skates, he ran up the stairs and walked quickly through the halls. Opening the door to their room, he darted inside.

"Gwen?"

But there was no answer. And as he checked the bathroom, he felt a strange uncertainty trouble his spirits.

Moving back out into the hall, he looked both ways before finally choosing one and continuing to search for her.

"Gwen? Where are you?"

Turning another corner, he reached the galley, but she wasn't there either. Duke leaned against the entrance as a sudden memory of Earth disturbed him. He had searched for her there too. And night after night, he hadn't found her. That awful worry that he would never see her again settled on him here, and Duke felt an increased sense of urgency to see her.

He hurried on down another hall, and as he drew nearer to the control room, she suddenly emerged and hurried towards him.

"Duke? What's wrong?"

But Duke drew her into a tight embrace and held her close.

"I lost you."

She clasped his arms and drew back with a confused expression.

"I'm right here."

"No, on Earth, and Royce…" Duke began as his voice trailed off as the memories were still piecing themselves together.

Gwen opened her beak in surprise and then she embraced him.

"Only for a little while. But you found me, though I'm sorry the memories are painful."

Duke rested his head against hers as he held onto her.

"Sorry, sweetheart. I just started to relive them…and I couldn't find you."

They stood together in silence until Gwen drew back again, though she took Duke's hands in her own.

"I didn't mean to worry you, but I thought you needed some time with your teammates. After all, you shared so much with them that I wasn't a part of."

Duke clasped her hands firmly.

"You're part of it now."

_Walking out from behind trees in the Anaheim Park, Gwen approached him in a blue and white satin dress with a bouquet of flowers in her hands. Her blonde hair was beautifully arranged with tiny blue and green flowers. As she walked closer, Duke felt his breath catch for a moment. It felt like he had waited a lifetime for this day. And here she was… shining in the warm sunlight and about to give herself to him for the rest of their lives._

_Her smile and glistening eyes only heightened her beauty. And Duke eagerly reached for hand as she stood opposite to him. _

_Wildwing walked up to them with a box containing two rings. The rings were an Earth tradition for human weddings, but Gwen had fallen in love with the idea once she heard of it. _

_But after exchanging vows and putting on the rings, Duke and Gwen were also presented with a hockey stick in typical Puckworld fashion. They both put their hands on it and held it together as the ceremony came to its conclusion._

"Duke? What is it?" Gwen asked as he seemed to stare at her, and yet, not really be looking at her.

"Gwen, I… I remember our wedding."

As she listened, tears appeared in her eyes suddenly, and Duke smiled as he brushed them off her face when they started to spill over her feathers.

"You're getting everything back," she said, returning his smile.

Duke embraced her again, and he started to remember the days that followed their wedding in a steady stream. Instinctively, his beak moved to her neck as he pressed her closer to him. But suddenly, Gwen pushed him back gently, and Duke lifted up his head to see the other ducks standing in the hall.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt," Wildwing said, sounding uncomfortable as he gestured to the control room.

"Oh, right," Duke said, clearing his throat as he and Gwen moved to one side to let them pass.

"I don't know, bro. I think things look pretty secure up here," Nosedive said, winking at Duke.

Gwen smiled and drew Duke back towards the direction of their room.

"We have some catching up of our own to do, right?"

Duke grasped her hand tighter with a nod, and he eagerly followed Gwen back to their room.

* * *

Sometime later Duke and Gwen were lying in bed beside each other, staring up at the ceiling.

"Remembering everything makes this better than I thought it would," he said.

Gwen rolled onto her side and put her hand on his chest.

"I'll have to take your word for it, because it's always been good for me. But I'm glad you aren't bored with my company."

Duke smiled as he nestled his beak at her neck.

"Never."

They remained in a tender embrace for some time more before Duke finally sighed and sat up.

"One down side about remembering my teammates though is that I remember my responsibilities. I should be helping them, sweetheart, though I'd rather stay with you."

Gwen nodded.

"We should both be out there. I'm just so glad to have you back."

She caught sight of a sudden gleam in his good eye just before Duke clasped her arms and kissed her suddenly, echoing her thoughts with his actions. He pushed her back against the mattress with gentle, yet passionate force.

"I can't get up as long as you're giving me this kind of attention," Gwen said, starting to sound breathless as Duke caressed her and kissed her neck.

But his failure to stop indicated that he was well aware of that fact and had no desire to let her up. Yet, finally, he drew back with a sigh of reluctance and slowly rose from the bed.

"It reminds me of that time Drake One's alarm went off the second night after our wedding," he said. "I've never been angrier with Dragaunus than I was that night."

Gwen gave a soft laugh as she sat up and held the blanket to her chest.

"I tried to make it up to you later."

"You definitely did," Duke remembered with a smile. "But we're gonna have to put this on hold again, sweetheart. But just so you know, when this is over, I expect an uninterrupted night of just the two of us."

She nodded as he started to get dressed, and then another thought occurred to her.

"Duke, uh, since so much of your memory is coming back to you. Do you remember any more about Soléne?"

Duke stopped and stood still with his back towards her. Gwen wondered if she had been right to bring it up, but she really wanted to understand their history.

"I can recall some of it…now that you've asked," Duke said and his tone became solemn as he faced her. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"

Gwen clasped the blanket a little tighter, but she nodded.

"Whatever happened," she said hesitantly. "I know that I left you. You had no reason to give me any consideration back then."

"It's not that," Duke said, forcing a smile. "Sure, I flirted with other girls and took a passing interest in some, but there was never anyone like you, Gwen."

She nodded but waited for him to speak again. But appearing uneasy, Duke sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I was already the leader of the Brotherhood when I first met Soléne," he began. "Someone else recruited her, but there was no way I wasn't gonna notice her. She had a thirst to prove herself. And I got a little distracted with a foolish flirtation…that's all it was. But I think it was enough to convince her she could use me to gain power."

"So what happened?"

"Blind as I was at first, I eventually saw her for what she was, …a spiteful harpy, with a taste for blood. The violence within the Brotherhood increased drastically the longer she was there. And when I mentioned my concerns, she just said it was necessary to purify the Brotherhood from weakness."

"And she wanted you to condone the violence," Gwen said quietly.

"Not just that. She wanted my position as leader. I could keep the official title, but she wanted to be pullin' the strings. But that was goin' too far. Fortunately, I still had enough loyal members of the Brotherhood supporting me …even Falcone backed me at that time. Though I expect it was less out of his loyalty to me and more from the fact that she had made an enemy of him."

"You drove her out?"

"Yeah, not my best decision, but I figured we had done enough to defeat her and her followers, Jax bein' one of 'em. Guess I shoulda seen that they would come back, but execution seemed too extreme at the time."

"How long was this before the Saurian invasion?"

Duke sighed.

"Just a few months."

Gwen could understand the rest without his explanation. The Brotherhood began to fall apart under the Saurian invasion, and Duke left, caring more about the resistance than his past as a thief. But once Dragaunus was gone, Soléne quickly seized power. However, she was denied her chance to get revenge on Duke …or the opportunity to control him, which Gwen guessed was what she really wanted.

"She seemed obsessed with you in the Brotherhood," Gwen said out loud when Duke didn't speak again. "I suppose having you at her mercy was the fulfillment of her revenge and her ambitions for power."

Duke was quiet for a moment and then turned to look at her.

"I'm done with the Brotherhood. You get that it's all in the past for me, right?" Duke said, and Gwen nodded. "But letting Soléne go the first time was a mistake. Somethin' tells me that if I don't deal with her this time, I'm gonna regret it."

Gwen appeared worried, but she put her hand on top of his.

"Just don't do it alone," she pleaded.

Duke nodded and clasped her hand.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Settling the Score

Still living in their hidden base, the ducks now felt that a heavy weight had been lifted from all of them. When Duke looked at his teammates now, he knew them as his friends, and he was continually remembering their adventures and reviving old jokes.

Gwen observed all of this with her own heart sharing in their joy. The lingering effects of Soléne's malice were finally being undone. _And yet, we'll never be safe until she's been defeated …no, until she's been destroyed._ Duke had already explained how defeat hadn't been enough. The thought of the dangers of this future conflict was the only thing that overshadowed Gwen's happiness.

But she tried to push her fears aside as she sat with Duke at an evening meal. He was already starting to notice how quiet she was.

"What keeps distractin' you today?" he asked.

Wildwing, Nosedive, and Mallory were busy with their own conversation at the table, but Gwen smiled and shook her head, not wanting to bring it up here.

She was saved from having to say more when Tanya hurried into the room, breathing heavily, but also smiling with excitement.

"I've got a connection!"

Wildwing stood up at once and followed Tanya as she left just as quickly as she had come, and Nosedive and Mallory followed. Duke shot a look at Gwen, but she shook her head, seeming just a confused as he was, but they rose and followed the others.

This led them to a section of the base that had previously been locked, and Wildwing explained that Tanya was running some dangerous experiments here. So they had kept it sealed for safety reasons.

When they entered, Duke saw a cylinder-like machine humming as blue light shot out from it. Wildwing opened his com and asked Grin to join them.

"What is that?" Duke asked, keeping Gwen back from it.

"Hey, babes, can you hear me? Anyone there?" Phil's voice called from the device. It was distorted and grainy, but it was clearly Phil Palmfeather.

"We hear you, Phil," Wildwing said.

"It's about time! Do you know how hard it is to be manager without a team?!"

Mallory rolled her eyes and walked up to the device.

"Phil, what's happening with Dragaunus?"

"Here, stop whinin' and let me handle this," Klegghorn's gruff voice said. "Look, we need you back here. Dragaunus almost has his ship repaired, and once that happens, he's going to attack the city."

"How do you know it's almost repaired?" Wildwing asked.

"Apart from getting rid of you, he was had quite a mess at first. The military showed up, but his drones and henchmen defended the ship until it could take off and hide somewhere else. We searched, but it wasn't until yesterday that his ship appeared in the sky again. He fired on a military base outside Anaheim and leveled it. But we think that was just a test run. He's hiding again, but we're sure an attack is coming. When you are coming back?"

It grew quiet in the room for a moment, but then Wildwing leaned closer to the device.

"Tanya has to make a few adjustments to the trans-dimensional beacon, and we'll need your help. But I'll be there as soon as I can."

"What about the team?" Phil asked.

"Phil, right now we need to focus on getting the beacon to work, or none of us are coming back. Tanya's got some directions for you, so listen up. Oh, and Klegghorn, she wants you to find Dr. Huggerman and Buzz Blitzman. You're going to need their help."

Tanya stepped forward to give some directions, and Wildwing walked out into the hall as the others followed him. Grin met them there.

"You're not going back without me, Wing," Nosedive said quickly.

Wildwing put his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"It might be a one-way trip, Dive. If Dragaunus's ship is destroyed, getting back to Puckworld won't be an option.

"Whoa, how is getting back to Earth an option?" Duke asked. "What are these beacons?"

"Do you remember our jump to the future where Dragaunus had taken over Earth and left Viper in charge?" Wildwing asked.

"Yeah, I remember it."

"Tanya didn't tell any of us, but after that experience, she never wanted us to be separated from Earth and let Dragaunus succeed in making that future a reality. So she started building a beacon in her lab that could connect to Dragaunus's dimensional gateway generator. She finished it just before we were pulled back here, and I guess she told Phil about it."

"But once we ended up here, she had to build another beacon just like it," Mallory added. "It took her some time, but she managed to connect it to the beacon she left on Earth."

"Yeah, apparently she got some magical stones from Borg that help her with communication across dimensions," Nosedive said. "But she only told us about it here."

"So once Tanya finishes, the connection will be strong enough to link us to Earth and more importantly, to Dragaunus's dimensional gateway generator. But his ship has to be in the air for the connection to be established," Wildwing said.

"So Tanya's beacons help with the connection, but they don't actually open a portal," Gwen said as she started to understand.

Wildwing nodded.

"That's why we're not guaranteed a way back to Puckworld. And I'm not asking anyone to come with me."

"Hey, I'm goin', bro," Nosedive said firmly. "If we're stuck, then we're stuck together. And anyway, I owe it to Thrash and Mookie."

"My young friend is right," Grin said. "It would be bad karma to stay when we are needed somewhere else."

"It's the mission," Mallory said. "Of course, I'm going. I've always said that we have to see it through."

Duke looked at Gwen, and she took his hand and shot him an understanding look.

"I want to go with you," Duke said, turning to the others. "But I have to finish things with Soléne here."

"Well, Tanya said it would take a few more days," Wildwing said. "How long do you need?"

* * *

The next morning, Gwen began to wake up and tried to roll towards Duke, but she didn't feel him beside her. Opening her eyes, she saw that he was not in bed, and gazing towards the bathroom, she saw that he wasn't there either.

Gwen rose and changed her clothes before quickly running her fingers through her hair. Then she darted out of the room and hurried to the galley. Nosedive was the only one there eating some breakfast.

"Have you seen Duke?"

He shook his head, seeming confused by her question. Hearing someone else behind her, Gwen turned and saw Mallory.

"He and Wildwing just returned," Mallory said.

"Returned?" Gwen repeated, and Mallory gestured in the direction of the main doors as if she didn't wish to explain.

Gwen hurried away, but she could hear Nosedive protesting behind her. Apparently, he hadn't been told about the trip off the base either.

When she reached the doors, Duke and Wildwing were just coming in. They seemed tired, but uninjured. Duke looked a little uncomfortable with Gwen's gaze, and she crossed her arms impatiently.

"You left without telling me."

"Yeah, I thought I could get back before you woke up."

Gwen's expression grew colder.

"Duke, you promised me you wouldn't do this alone."

"I didn't," he said, gesturing to his teammate. "Wildwing came with me."

Wildwing cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable, and said,

"I uh, could really use some breakfast, so I'll let you two sort this out."

He slipped away, and Gwen kept her beak closed, but her gaze was still fixed on Duke. He sighed and said,

"I was gonna ask you to join me for the next part of my plan. But I didn't see any reason to put you at risk for this business last night."

"And what was this business?"

"I had an old cache of weapons and things stored outside the Brotherhood. No one knew its hiding spot, but the general location is one I expected to be watched by the Brotherhood. Wildwing and I went there to gather a few things and to get their attention. Then we went to the old ice rink to drop some stuff off, hoping someone would follow us there."

"Did they?"

"Yes, Wildwing was able to use the Mask to identify ducks trailing us. The hard part was losin' them before we came back to this base."

"What was the point of leading them to the ice rink?"

"That's where we're going to set up our trap," Duke assured her. "I have'ta lure Soléne to a location of my choice to have an advantage. Now her spies will tell her that this is where I've hidden stuff, and Wildwing and I talked of coming back tomorrow."

Gwen still appeared displeased, but she walked closer to him.

"I understand that you want to protect me, but I'm tired of the secrets that have kept us apart. And yes, I kept secrets from you, but that time is over."

"If I had told you about last night, you would have wanted to come with me."

"I also would have understood why you wanted to take Wildwing instead," Gwen insisted. "I can handle sitting on the bench if there's a good reason for it."

Duke shook his head.

"You woulda been up all night waitin' for me to come back."

Gwen responded with a curt laugh.

"I'm your wife. I should have the right to do that if I wish."

Duke smiled, and he put his hands on her waist, drawing her close to him. But when he went to kiss her, Gwen turned away.

"I'm still mad at you. Just imagine how you'd feel if you'd woken up and learned that I had left the base without telling you."

"You're right," he said, still holding her close. "But I'd be so glad to have you back again."

He nuzzled his beak against her neck, and she returned his embrace. Then she softly mentioned her forgiveness before kissing him.

* * *

Darkness fell over Bladeston as Jax approached the ice rink. Surveillance had picked up movement here after their scouts reported following Duke and one of his teammates here. After several failures to locate Duke, they couldn't risk losing his trail this time.

Jax sent Myros and another member of the Brotherhood ahead to check it out, and Myros returned ten minutes later.

"Duke's inside with a couple teammates."

"And Raven?"

"There's one girl with dark hair, whom we don't recognize from the Resistance, but her feathers don't match Raven's."

Jax considered that for a moment. He didn't like not knowing where all of the targets were.

"Scout around the outside again. Make sure the perimeter is clear."

Myros seemed dissatisfied with the task, but he knew better than to argue with Jax. He left, and after waiting longer, Jax finally received the all clear message.

Jax initiated the attack, having the other Brotherhood members close in with stealth and precision. He was the last to enter the ice rink, and once everyone was in position, he made his move.

* * *

Duke sensed some of the less-experienced thieves approach, so he tapped his shoulder twice to indicate to his teammates that they should be ready. They tried to talk normally about the crates that he was pretending to sort through.

Gwen stood near Wildwing, hoping she could rip the dark wig from her head soon. She thought she needed something to help them recognize her as Raven, but this cheap wig was itchy and hot. Although, her nerves might be making things worse. But she forgot about the wig, when a familiar figure appeared from the shadows.

"Congratulations on escaping the Brotherhood, Duke," Jax said darkly as he walked into view. "But you should have realized what kind of consequences would follow."

Duke stood up from where he had been crouching near the crate and activated his saber.

"How did you find this place, Jax?"

Jax stopped on the stairs, looking down at them.

"It was only a matter of time. Now, tell me where Raven is. We have something special planned for her."

Duke cast a glance at the other ducks beside him before turning back to Jax.

"Where's Soléne?"

"She's waiting for you and Raven," Jax said impatiently. "I'm supposed to take you to her."

Duke scowled.

"No, she can come to me if she wants to meet."

Jax laughed.

"You're forgetting your place. Soléne runs things now."

"On the contrary, I remember everything," Duke said, pointing his saber at Jax. "And I can name each time I squashed your challenges in the Brotherhood. Do you really want to test me again?"

Jax drew his own saber.

"Things have changed. You're not the king of thieves anymore."

Duke began to walk up the stairs and gestured for his teammates to stay back.

"You're a slow learner, Jax… ya always were."

With an angry cry, Jax stalked forward and slashed at Duke. But Duke's blade was instantly in position to halt the blow. At first, Duke just let Jax try to strike at him, but none of his attacks were successful.

Then Duke swung back at Jax, and he began to force his challenger to give up ground. Jax grew angrier as he failed to stop Duke. And finally, Duke knocked Jax's saber from his hand. It clattered on the steps, and Gwen drew closer and picked it up.

Other members of the Brotherhood stepped out from their hiding places, but Wildwing, Mallory, and Nosedive aimed their puck launchers at them.

Jax stepped back from Duke with a scowl.

"Surrender," Duke insisted.

"You're outnumbered," Jax said, gesturing to the other Brotherhood members. "Your friends might take a few of us, but they'll never get us all before we kill them. You're the one who will surrender if you want to save their lives."

Duke took a step back as if considering the situation.

"And you must tell us where Raven is," Jax added impatiently.

"I'm right here, you oaf," Gwen said, still holding his saber.

She pulled the wig from her head and shook out her blonde hair. Jax stared down at her as if trying to reconcile the strangeness of her appearance with the familiarity of her voice.

"And my name's not Raven. It's Gwendolyn Fairfeather."

Jax's expression hardened, but then he cast a smirk at Duke.

"So you never gave her up after all. I heard the stories …always wondered what happened between you and the heiress. Well, Soléne is going to enjoy tearing her apart."

Duke cast a dark look at Jax.

"Soléne will never get the chance."

"Her vengeance is inevitable," Jax insisted. "She's listening to our conversation right now."

He pointed to an active communicator on his wrist.

"Then all she's going to hear is the sound of your failure," Duke said as he punched a button on his own communicator.

Suddenly, other ducks burst into the ice rink and seized the members of the Brotherhood. Jax started to run, but Duke knocked him to the ground.

Wildwing walked up to Gwen, so he could help keep an eye on Jax.

"You and your mercenaries are under arrest. I hope your mistress enjoys listening to that," he said.

Duke only backed away from Jax when two of Puckworld's Special Forces officers came to take him. They fastened energy band handcuffs around his wrists and pulled him up roughly.

"Ya know how you and Soléne told me I'd spent my forgotten years at Renhurst?" Duke asked. "Well, that's where you're goin'. But I do have one piece of good news for ya. Turns out they don't actually destroy ducks' memories, which is fortunate since I never want you to forget this night."

Jax snarled and struggled, but the officers took him away as Mallory approached with a smile.

"Told you, my connections would be helpful," she said, giving a nod to one of the officers.

Duke shot her a smile, but it quickly faded as he looked around the ice rink. Gwen moved to his side.

"We didn't get Soléne though," she said, echoing his thoughts.

"Yeah, that's what worries me."

Gwen handed Duke the saber that had belonged to Jax.

"Ya don't want it?" he asked.

Gwen shook her head.

"I'd rather you teach me to make my own."

Duke handed the weapon off to one of the officers. And then he walked back down the crate and picked something out.

"You should be armed with more than a puck launcher," he said handing a piece of armor to her that seemed to wrap around the lower arm. "You'll need to remove that jacket to put this on though."

With a confused look, Gwen removed her jacket, and Duke helped her put the strange object on her arm, and he fastened one band of it around her wrist. Then he stood to one side as he flicked her wrist, and suddenly a glowing blade, like his saber only in dagger form, slashed out from the armor attached to her lower arm.

"Whoa, that's awesome!" Nosedive said.

"I made it before the Saurian invasion," Duke said. "But it got left behind when I joined the resistance."

Gwen flicked her wrist again and the blade deactivated and vanished. And she carefully touched new item around her arm as she inspected it.

"Thanks," she said with a smile.

"Well, I hope ya don't have to use it," Duke said with a sigh as he helped her put her jacket back on.

Suddenly their coms beeped, and Wildwing checked his.

"Guys, the beacons are ready," Tanya's voice said, echoing from the device. "Klegghorn says Dragaunus's ship is in the air. We gotta go!"

Duke appeared uneasy as he surveyed the ice rink, and Gwen clasped his hand.

"I wanted to finish this too, but she's not worth staying for. … Not when our team is going back to Earth."

Duke nodded, and he and Gwen followed Wildwing. But Duke couldn't shake the bad feeling that was unsettling all of his instincts.

* * *

Without further delay, Wildwing drove them to the location where Tanya and Grin had set up the beacon. As they stepped out and approached, they could see a bright blue light increasing around the beacon.

Tanya beckoned them forward before turning back to her device.

"Hurry, you have to be inside this line to be drawn through the dimensional gateway," she said, gesturing to the circular line around the beacon. "I just need a few moments to activate it, and then we're out of here."

The ducks walked quickly inside the circle, though the beacon was hardly a welcoming sight with the noise and light emanating from it.

Gwen released Duke's hand to cover her eyes as the light from the beacon flashed blindingly. But that's when she felt a sudden force pull her back and into the tight grip of Soléne de Fyre.

Duke was instantly aware of her absence at his side, and he turned to see Soléne pulling Gwen away. Though she tried to fight back, Gwen was stopped when Soléne raised her saber and held it close to her neck.

Soléne saw Duke watching them, and she thrust Gwen against a wall, but continued to hold her saber threateningly pointed at Gwen.

"Stop! Soléne your quarrel is with me," Duke said as he took a step closer, but Soléne lifted her saber higher.

The other ducks turned and saw the danger, but they were also halted from approaching. Mallory put her hand on her puck launcher as she considered the situation.

"You might want revenge, but I'm betting you also want to live. So your only way out of here is to let her go," she told Gwen's attacker.

Soléne laughed.

"Your friends underestimate me, Duke. But you won't do that, will you?"

She gestured to the line that Tanya had drawn in the ground, and Duke saw that she had pulled Gwen beyond the zone of the beacon.

"Tell them to go on and complete their precious mission. But you, …you have a choice to make. Go with your new friends, and leave your little princess with me. Or choose to stay with us."

Tanya appeared dismayed as she turned back to the beacon.

"I can't stop this now," she said to her teammates. "And this may be our only chance to get back."

Wildwing seemed torn as he looked from Tanya to Duke and Gwen. But Duke shot Wildwing a split-second glance over his shoulder.

"No, Wing. Don't even consider it. You have to go on. I'll figure this out."

With a wicked grin, Soléne locked her gaze on him. And as Duke started to walk towards the line, Gwen recovered her breath from the struggle, and called out,

"No! Duke, if you cross that line, then she wins."

But he continued to approach the line slowly, and Soléne seemed entirely focused on him. So Gwen turned her beak to the side and pressed herself against the wall as she dared to slide down.

Slipping under Soléne's blade, she rushed her enemy, but Soléne whirled on her. And although Gwen had drawn too close for Soléne to use her saber, she saw that the leader of the Brotherhood held a dagger in her other hand.

"No!" Duke shouted as he ran towards them past the line.

But just as Soléne wielded her dagger, Gwen flicked her wrist, and a blade tore through the fabric of her jacket as she thrust it forward into Soléne's abdomen.

Soléne's wide-eyed expression and gaping beak showed her surprise as she drew back. But her fatal wound was bleeding profusely, and she collapsed near the wall.

Gwen flicked her wrist again, and the blade disappeared. And as she made sure Soléne wasn't going to rise again, Gwen felt herself sinking down.

Duke reached Gwen and drew her into his arms. She winced, and he saw that Soléne had managed to slash her side with the dagger.

"Hold on, sweetheart. I'm here."

But as the light grew brighter behind them, hands seized both Duke and Gwen. And they looked back to see Wildwing and Grin outside the line, drawing them back into it.

"We're not leaving teammates behind!" Wildwing said over the noise from the beacon.

They drew Duke and Gwen back to the other side of the line just as the light grew so intense that it was impossible to see anything. The noise increased until Gwen felt a powerful force wrap itself around them, but through it all, she continued to feel the pain stemming from her wound.

* * *

**Sorry for the delay on this chapter. It's been a busy week, but I'm working on the final one, and hope to have it finished within a week. **


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Followed by Trouble

Gwen thought she could feel Duke's arms around her as he clung to her, but it was almost painful how every other sense seemed overloaded by the activity around them.

Moments later, she only knew that she was on hard pavement again, and everything seemed to hurt, but when she opened her eyes, she could see palm trees above them. And Duke was struggling to get up at her side.

"Gwen," he said worriedly when he saw her, and he crawled over to her.

"We're back," she said, feeling relieved, though she remained lying down.

Duke leaned over and inspected the wound on her side. And Tanya and Wildwing staggered over as well.

"Her internal organs are okay," Wildwing said after he activated the Mask. "We just need to stop the bleeding."

"Hey babes!" Phil called as he hurried over to them with Captain Klegghorn.

But Wildwing halted him.

"Phil, we need to get Gwen down to the infirmary."

"There's no time!" Klegghorn argued. "Dragaunus is flying over the city right now. If you're ever going to stop these lizards, you need to do it now!"

"I can't leave her here," Duke protested.

"Look, we can't fight evil alien ships, but we can take care of someone who's injured," Klegghorn persisted.

He gestured behind him, and the ducks saw Dr. Huggerman, Buzz, Thrash and Mookie standing there. They had all been waiting for their friends to return.

"Go on, Duke," Gwen urged. "You should be with your team."

Duke sighed and backed away, giving a nod to Klegghorn and Phil.

"Take care of her."

"Sure thing," Phil said. "Now come on, go save the world!"

Duke ran off with Wildwing and Tanya towards the Aerowing, though he shot one look back at Gwen, and she forced a smile, though the pain in her side was becoming more noticeable.

"Whoa, so like what happened?" Thrash asked, as he drew closer.

"Nevermind that, we have to tend to this wound," Dr. Huggerman said as he removed his lab coat, folded it, and pressed it to Gwen's side.

"You could say I got into a fight with another duck from Duke's past," Gwen told them.

"Phil, where's this infirmary?" Klegghorn asked.

"Wait, don't we need something to move her?" Buzz asked. "Like a stretcher or something?"

"Oh, we've like got something," Mookie said as she grabbed Thrash and they ran back to their store which was not far from the Pond.

"The infirmary's just a short walk once we get off the elevator," Phil told Klegghorn.

"Do you actually know how to use any of the equipment in there?" Klegghorn asked.

"Well,…"

"I'm sure Buzz and I can figure it out," Dr. Huggerman interrupted. "Or maybe you know how," he said, looking at Gwen.

She nodded.

"I remember a few things."

Thrash and Mookie soon returned with a folding table. The legs had been raised, so it was just a flat surface, but it was sturdy enough to support Gwen. Phil and Klegghorn helped move her onto it, and then Thrash and Phil each carried an end of the table into the Pond.

Once they were down the elevator, Phil was able to show them where to go, and it didn't take long for Dr. Huggerman and Buzz to figure out the infirmary, especially with Gwen's help. After the wound had been sterilized and sealed, Phil offered her some pain meds, but Gwen refused.

"I don't want to sleep until I know they're okay," she said, trying to draw herself up into a sitting position.

Buzz adjusted the controls on the bed for her, and Mookie handed her a glass of water.

"Thank you," Gwen said gratefully. "I only wish I could be up there helping them."

"Much as I hate to give those birds credit for anything," Klegghorn said from the side of the room. "They know what they're doing." And then he gave a short laugh. "…most of the time."

"We're just glad you came back," Thrash said, moving beside Mookie. "We were worried we might not even get to say goodbye to Nosedive."

"Not to mention that this team is still under contract," Phil interjected. "What was I supposed to do about the upcoming season?"

Gwen shot him a look.

"Phil, do not bring that up when you see the others. Just say that you missed them, okay?"

Phil Palmfeather looked a little sheepish.

"Well, maybe a little…"

Gwen drew in a sharp breath at a sudden bit of pain in her side.

"You sure you don't want anything?" Buzz asked.

"No, I'm okay," Gwen said, not entirely convincingly. "Why don't you tell me what's been happening here since we left?"

"I'll let them fill you in," Klegghorn said as he started towards the door. "I need to get back up there and keep an eye on my city. Phil, come help me with this elevator."

Dr. Huggerman seemed distracted checking Gwen's vitals on the monitors, so Buzz eagerly began to explain the events of the past several weeks. But of course, he had to do it with the flair of comic book descriptions.

But Gwen found it hard to focus, and she felt oddly sick, as if it wasn't just the pain in her side that was troubling her. Dr. Huggerman moved back to her bed.

"I think there's something else wrong. Did anything else happen during this fight?"

Gwen leaned back. It felt like her pulse was starting to race, and she was having trouble breathing. And then she realized that even she had underestimated Soléne's determination for revenge.

"The dagger I was stabbed with… it could have been poisoned."

All the humans stared at her with surprise and fear.

"Do you have any idea what kind?" Dr. Huggerman asked.

Gwen shook her head. The symptoms were getting worse by the minute now.

"You have to like do something!" Mookie said turning to Dr. Huggerman.

"What kind of a doctor do you think I am? I'm a specialist in electricity!"

"What about you, little dude?" Thrash asked Buzz.

But the kid shook his head.

"Maybe if I had a sample of the poison, but I don't…, and we don't know how much time we have!"

"It's not an Earth poison," Gwen said, straining to get the words out.

"Then like we have to talk to the ducks," Thrash said, and he bolted after Phil.

* * *

The battle aboard the Raptor had been brief, but intense, and Wildwing felt worn out when he called Phil from the Aerowing.

"We took out the power on the Raptor, but the Saurians forced us off the ship before we could do more. They've limped back to another hiding place on auxiliary power. How's Gwen?"

Phil was just about to answer when Thrash nearly collided with him in the hall.

"Dude, is that the ducks? Their girl needs help like now!"

Phil was protesting Thrash's attempt to take his phone, but Duke's demand to know what was wrong cut him short.

"It's like some of kind of poison, man," Thrash answered.

And Wildwing watched Duke's expression instantly change into one of despair. Tanya walked closer to them.

"Do you know what kind?" she asked Duke.

He shook his head as he slowly stepped back and stumbled into a seat on the Aerowing. But as the ducks tried to consider what they could do, Mookie came running up to Thrash and Phil.

"She keeps saying Falcone," Mookie said, sounding a bit breathless. "I don't like know what it means."

Suddenly, Duke's lifted his head and seemed to come to life as he stood up.

"We got the message, Mookie," Wildwing said. "I'm sending Tanya and some of the others back to the Pond to help. But Duke, Grin, and I are going after Falcone."

* * *

While Tanya, Mallory, and Nosedive raced back to the Pond in the Migrator, Wildwing used the speed of the Aerowing to quickly transport him and the other ducks to the prison that held an old enemy.

It took some convincing, but Wildwing was finally able to persuade the warden to release Falcone into their custody temporarily. And Duke wasted no time finding Falcone in his cell as his teammates hurried after him.

"Well, Duke, old chum. This is a surprise," Falcone said when he caught sight of them.

But Duke didn't reply, and when Grin yanked open the cell door. Falcone took a step back when he saw Duke's expression.

"I'm not in the mood for games, Falcone. You're gonna tell me what kind of poison Soléne de Fyre used in the Brotherhood _and_ what the antidote is. And you're gonna tell me now!"

Out of all the things Falcone could have imagined being asked, this was clearly not one of them.

"Why would you want to know that?" Falcone scoffed, once he seemed to recover from his surprise.

Duke pushed him up against the wall and pinned him there. But Falcone didn't appear intimidated and asked,

"And what, pray tell, is in it for me?"

"I coulda let Dragaunus kill you after ya tried to betray him," Duke reminded him. "Now tell me what I need to know!"

Falcone only laughed.

"And you think that little stunt makes us friends? For more than two years, I've been rotting in this stinking cell, and did you come to see me once before this? …Perhaps I don't even know the answer to your question. Did you ever stop to consider that?"

Duke backed up from Falcone, though his gaze didn't waver.

"I don't have a lot'a time here. If I don't get an answer soon, Gwendolyn Fairfeather is going to die. And you'll lose any bargaining chip you think you have with me."

Falcone considered that as he straightened his clothes.

"Yes, I heard the two of you met up again," he finally said, and then he gave a nauseated sigh. "True love. You never saw me letting that get in my way from achieving my best."

Duke clenched his fists, but suddenly Grin stepped into the cell, leaving Wildwing outside. Grin cracked his knuckles as he stared down at Falcone.

"My turn," the big duck said threateningly.

But Falcone's cowardice finally emerged, and he shrunk back, sputtering,

"Soléne laced her weapons with rudyne and arsote. It took out half the Brotherhood when she wanted to steal power after you left. I only survived because I carried an antidote with me."

Wildwing immediately sent the names of the compounds in the poison to Tanya.

"What was in the antidote?" Duke demanded.

Falcone's fear subsided as he cast a resentful look at Duke.

"No, I want something in return. Even if you beat it out of me, that will take too long to help her. Especially, when I'd be willing to show you where you can find some."

"How do we know you aren't lying?" Wildwing asked impatiently.

Duke stared back at Falcone, studying him carefully. But Falcone's gaze was confident.

"I know what my old friend will do if he finds I've lied to him about this," Falcone said. "But I did bring some of the antidote with my things to Earth. You just have to take me with you to find it."

Duke gripped Falcone's arm as he pulled him forward.

"Just remember your own words. You're not double-crossin' me on this."

* * *

Back in Anaheim, Tanya was frantically working with the information Wildwing had sent her from Falcone. Although she couldn't manufacture an antidote without more information or supplies, she better understood how to counter some of the poison's effects.

Mallory stood by Gwen's beside holding her hand and making sure the oxygen mask remained in place over her beak. With each passing minute, Gwen struggled more and more with getting enough oxygen. And her heart was beating too fast. Mallory wished the monitors didn't beep so loudly. It only added to the panic felt by all in the room.

After a moment, Tanya returned with a syringe, and she injected some liquid into Gwen's arm. Mallory looked over at the screen and saw Gwen's rapid heartrate start to decline.

"That should buy us more time," Tanya sighed, wiping her forehead.

"So she's not out of danger?" Mallory asked.

Tanya shook her head.

"This kind of poison will cause her body to shut down one way or another without an antidote. I just brought her heart rate down, but now there's a risk that it will keep declining. But she wasn't going to last much longer with that intense of a heart rate, so I had to do something."

Nosedive walked back into the room after using his com.

"Wing says Falcone is supposed to be leading them to an antidote."

Mallory glanced down at Gwen. She hadn't been able to speak or focus since they returned, and now Gwen looked as though she might be slipping into unconsciousness. Mallory looked back up at her teammates and the humans.

"I hope it's true."

* * *

Falcone's directions took them to empty land just outside Anaheim.

"These shackles are completely undignified," Falcone said, protesting against the handcuffs they had put him in.

"Unless you've got somethin' helpful to say, don't speak," Duke said coldly.

Wildwing landed the Aerowing near a rock formation that Falcone had directed them towards, and Duke grabbed Falcone's arm and pulled him outside.

"All right, now where did ya leave your stuff?"

Falcone drew his arm away from Duke with a resentful expression, but Grin was right behind him, and so Falcone sighed with annoyance before looking around at the rocks.

"I hid my pack under those stones," Falcone said gesturing to the bottom of the rock outcrop.

Duke and Wildwing started to remove them, but many pieces of the rocks had fallen upon this spot. And some of the rocks were larger and more difficult to move. Grin came out to help for the sake of time. Wildwing stepped back and used the Mask. There was something buried underneath. Falcone hadn't lied about that.

Once Grin removed the final large rock, Duke seized the pack and pulled it open to inspect the contents. Inside a box, Duke found a few vials tucked in protective padding.

"Which one is it, Falcone?!"

But there was no answer.

They turned back the Aerowing, but the handcuffs were on the ground, and Falcone was gone. Wildwing grabbed the pack and helped Duke back on his feet.

"Come on, Tanya, will know which one it is."

* * *

When the Aerowing landed inside the Pond, Duke took off running for the infirmary with the box. Tanya was waiting for him, having received word from Wildwing, and she had prepared a test for the contents of the vials. Taking a drop from each, she cautiously tested their effects as Duke hurried to Gwen's bedside.

Her form was limp, and the beeping of the monitor seemed alarmingly slow in measuring her heartbeat. Mallory and Nosedive stood nearby, but Mallory ushered Nosedive aside at Duke's approach.

Duke clasped Gwen's hand and bent over her, lowering his head to hers.

"Come back to me again, Gwen."

She was motionless except for the faint sign of shallow breathing.

But soon Tanya came back to them as Wildwing and Grin entered the infirmary.

"It's this one," Tanya said, now carrying a syringe filled with clear liquid, and she injected it into Gwen's other arm.

"Did we get it here in time?" Duke asked.

Tanya massaged Gwen's arm after giving the injection, but she didn't answer Duke. They'd know in a few minutes if it was soon enough or not. Duke turned his attention back to Gwen as he continued to hold onto her hand.

Time seemed to have slowed down as the ducks waited in silence with some of their human friends. No one could think of anything helpful to say, and it seemed better to let the room remain quiet. The beeping of the monitor was at least a sign that they didn't have to give up hope yet.

Finally, Duke felt movement from Gwen's fingers as he held her hand, and he relaxed his grip enough to see her hand move.

"Gwen?" he called, and her eyes blinked open.

Her heart rate returned to a more normal pace, and Tanya carefully removed the oxygen mask. Gwen saw Duke standing over her, and she smiled, but then she shut her eyes tightly.

"Uh, that's some kind of headache," Gwen said, wincing. "Is there still some pain medicine around?"

Phil smiled and started to walk forward, but Tanya raised her hand.

"Sorry, but we need to let this antidote finish its work first," Tanya said, though she sounded relieved. "But Mallory, turn these lights off, and find something that she can use to cover her eyes."

Duke continued to keep his hand on hers, but he used his other one to smooth some hair back from her face.

"What happened with Dragaunus?" Gwen asked, wearily.

"What usually happens," Duke sighed. "He got away, but we stopped him from threatening Anaheim …for the present at least."

"I'm glad you're back," she said softly. "I'm sorry about all of this."

Duke held back a surprised laugh.

"Sweetheart, you got nothin' to be sorry for. I shoulda known Soléne would do somethin' like this. I just wish you hadn't been caught in the middle of it."

"Not caught," Gwen sighed, putting one hand to her aching head. "I _put _myself in the middle of these things."

Duke admitted it was true with a nod.

"But no more, Gwen," he insisted. "I don't think I can take another day like today."

"Not sure I can either," she said, with a slight smile, though the headache soon made that impossible.

Duke laughed and kissed her hand.

* * *

After so many trials, the coming night gave Gwen a chance to recover from the effects of the poison and the other ducks the opportunity to rest from their efforts. Tanya insisted on keeping Gwen in the infirmary though to monitor her health, and she had offered to sleep in a spare bed nearby in case she was needed, but Duke insisted on claiming that responsibility.

Tanya returned to her bunk, and Duke rested when he could be not far from Gwen. But unable to sleep soundly after so much had happened, there came a time when Gwen and Duke were both awake.

"Can I get you anything?" Duke asked when he saw that she was restless.

"No, I'm okay," Gwen said as she sat up slowly. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Duke shook his head as he stood up and walked over to her.

"It's been tough to fall asleep tonight."

She reached out and clasped his hand.

"Are you thinking about Falcone?"

Shaking his head, Duke put his other hand on top of hers.

"He'll slink into some hole for now, but we'll catch him one day."

Gwen smiled, but she could see that he was troubled by something else.

"Are you sorry to be back on Earth?"

Duke let out a brief laugh.

"No, oddly enough, the past weeks feel like a bad dream. But I came too close to losing you, Gwen. Everything would have felt so empty without you…"

His voice trailed off, and Gwen leaned closer to him, so he could put his arms around and hold her close to his chest.

"I don't want you to lose sight of this important mission that you have with the team," she said. "And someday, I want to join you again in the fight against Dragaunus, but if it makes you feel better, maybe I could take a break for a few weeks."

"Make it a month, sweetheart," Duke pleaded. "At least give me that long. And you need to fully recover."

Gwen scoffed.

"It won't take me that long to recover," But she could tell how unsettled Duke was, so she quickly added. "I'll give it a month though, for you."

He sighed and seemed more at ease as he took a step back.

"You sure you don't need anythin'?"

She considered his offer and said,

"Some water sounds good."

Duke nodded and left her side to get it. Gwen laid her head back. Her side still hurt a little, but mostly her mind kept running over the events of a very long day.

When Duke returned, she sat up and drank some of the water. For the rest of the night, he remained by her side until she was able to fall asleep.

* * *

Two weeks later…

The Mighty Ducks returned to the Pond after dealing with a third mechanical threat from Dr. Droid. Tired, but all still well and feeling like they had returned to a familiar way of life, they reached the lower levels of the Pond.

Gwen stood waiting for Duke by Drake One, and he walked over to greet her. She smiled and embraced him, but there was a hint of impatience in her gaze.

"Isn't it about time Gwen joined us again?" Mallory asked as she watched them.

Duke shot her a look before turning back to Gwen.

"We agreed on a month, didn't we?"

"We did," Gwen sighed. "And I'll keep my word. But I am more than ready, Duke."

"I'm not, sweetheart."

Still, he had seen how hard it was for her to stay behind now that she had recovered her health.

"But I'll make ya this deal instead," Duke said with a sigh. "We've been working on that saber of yours, right?"

Gwen nodded.

"Once we finish it and test it out, then you can come with us to fight crime again."

With a smile, Gwen reflected on how the saber was nearly finished, and she had almost considered working on it without Duke a few times to speed up the process. But she wanted her saber to be well-made, and it had been an enjoyable project to share with Duke. And so she had always waited until he was free to assist her.

"In that case, do you have some time to spare now?" she asked, drawing him away.

But Duke stopped and pulled her back to him.

"Actually, I was thinkin' about the two of us enjoying dinner together. I picked up your favorite panini from that Italian place downtown."

He gestured back to the other ducks who were taking their own food to the galley, but Wildwing left one bag behind near Drake One.

Gwen nodded, still smiling.

"I guess we'll just see how things go after dinner."

* * *

**This story is coming down the end, but I want to add a final brief scene with Gwen and her saber. So that's the next chapter.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

One More Scene

Almost a week after Duke struck a bargain with Gwen, she stood in the training room, looking down at her deactivated saber. It was just like Duke's in shape, but the color was different.

The door opened, and Duke walked in with his own saber.

"Okay, sweetheart, you ready for the final test?"

She nodded with a smile and activated her saber. The blade extended out with a flash of white and yellow light. But once fully activated, the blade glowed blue as Gwen swung it before her.

Duke observed the color with a slight smile.

"It suits you. It matches your eyes."

But she faced him and held the blade ready.

"This isn't some accessory. It's proof that I've earned my place."

Listening to her, Duke shot Gwen a skeptical look.

"There's no need to prove anythin'. You've already got a place with the Mighty Ducks."

"Yes, I know. But I want the former leader of the Brotherhood of the Blade to tell me that I passed my apprenticeship."

Duke looked at her in surprise, but then he shook his head.

"There's no Brotherhood now. That's all over, Gwen."

She lowered her saber a bit.

"I passed the training, didn't I? And I crafted my own saber. All I need is the approval of my mentor."

Gwen shot Duke a bit of a smile, but he still appeared confused.

"Why would ya care about your status for the Brotherhood?"

"In the Brotherhood, I stopped being someone who had inherited things her whole life. I had to fight for them… to earn them," she said, raising the saber again. "And I want to know if you see that I'm not an apprentice anymore."

"I kinda liked you bein' my apprentice," Duke said with a smile.

"Sometimes," Gwen scoffed, remembering the initial trouble she'd had with Duke as Raven. "And perhaps I enjoyed it too, but I'm ready for the next challenge."

Duke activated his own saber and held it ready.

"We'll see, Gwen. But remember, these aren't training blades."

Gwen nodded, but she moved to try to disarm Duke without waiting for him to swing first. Duke deflected her strike, and the sabers were wielded in quick succession after that. Gwen felt a difference in the heat and the speed of these sabers from the ones she had trained with. She could tell that Duke was being careful not to actually strike her, just as she didn't wish to hurt him. This was just about disarming the opponent and proving that she could defend herself.

Minutes passed, and Gwen was struggling to find a way to beat Duke. He had far more experience than she did, and the way he seemed to anticipate her moves foiled her efforts every time.

Their blades clashed together another time, but Gwen saw that she was closer than she meant to be to the strike, and Duke suddenly reached around with his other arm and pulled Gwen to the side, so that she remained out of harm's way.

Although they both still had their sabers activated, Gwen found that she was right next to Duke now, and he had let down his guard for a moment to make sure she was safe. Making a quick decision, she leaned into him and kissed him. And then she moved her beak to a spot under his where she knew he preferred to be caressed.

"Yield," she told him, still holding her saber in her other hand.

Duke continued to hold onto her, and he moved as if to kiss her back, but Gwen smiled as she halted him and insisted,

"Yield, Duke L'Orange."

He gave a soft laugh.

"I yield, sweetheart. You're always gonna win against me."

They both deactivated their sabers, and Duke clasped her with both hands as he kissed her. Gwen returned his affection. Maybe she didn't have the same level of skill that he possessed in this kind of fighting, but if she was his weakness… _Yes, I can accept that, just as he is mine_, Gwen thought, surrendering to his embrace.

The End

**Thank you for reading! I am grateful for the reviews that have been left. They always encourage me to keep writing. **


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